Prelims – Indian polity and Governance
Mains - GS II |Government Policies & Interventions & GS I | Social empowerment
Why in News?
The Union government recently increased the material cost for midday meals per day for those enrolled in kindergarten and primary schools and upper primary schools
- The PM-POSHAN Scheme, previously referred to as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
- It is a Centrally Sponsored initiative overseen by the Ministry of Education.
- Aim - To provide a hot, cooked meal each school day to 11.20 crore children enrolled in Balvatikas (pre-primary) and Classes 1 to 8 across 10.36 lakh government and government-aided schools.
- This scheme serves two main purposes
- To enhance the nutritional status of children attending school.
- To boost enrollment, retention, and attendance rates, particularly among underprivileged children.
- The updated material cost per student per day is as follows
- Rs. 6.78 for Balvatika and Primary students (an increase from Rs. 6.19).
- Rs. 10.17 for Upper Primary students (up from Rs. 9.29).
- These amounts represent the minimum required contribution; however, States and Union Territories have the option to allocate additional funds from their budgets to offer meals with improved nutritional quality.
- Nutritional standards
- For Balvatika and Primary classes - 20g of pulses, 50g of vegetables, and 5g of oil.
- For Upper Primary classes - 30g of pulses, 75g of vegetables, and 7.5g of oil.
- The Labour Bureau, under the Ministry of Labour, provides inflation data for the items included in the PM-POSHAN meal basket, which is derived from the Consumer Price Index – Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) based on 600 sample villages across 20 States.
- The POSHAN Abhiyan, managed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, focuses on improving nutrition for adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children aged 0 to 6 years.
- Mission POSHAN 2.0, launched in 2021, combines the efforts of POSHAN Abhiyan and the Supplementary Nutrition Program into a single, cohesive framework.
- Funding structure
- A 60:40 split between the Centre and States/UTs with a legislature.
- A 90:10 split for Northeastern and Himalayan States.
- Full central funding for Union Territories without a legislature.
Reference
Hindustan Times | PM Poshan Scheme
