Latest news with #PM-POSHAN
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
PM-POSHAN vs reality: How India's midday meal programme struggles on the ground
A hundred years after the Madras Municipal Corporation first introduced the midday meal scheme, every Indian State and Union Territory today runs the programme—some, like Kerala, serving modern additions such as egg fried rice and micro greens. Yet, inefficiencies persist across the country, with funding remaining a major concern for a scheme that has consistently improved students enrolment and retention in schools. In early 2025, the Maharashtra government mulled scrapping eggs from the mid-day meal citing funding constraints. But following widespread criticism, it reversed the move—reinstating eggs and bananas weekly and doubling the scheme's budget, though critics raised concerns over the dilution of the programme's nutritional value. The Hindu takes a deep dive into various meal programmes in the country, tracing the origins and examining the effectiveness of the implementation. A century-old journey Midday mealsin schools have a long history in India. In 1925, India's first-ever midday meal scheme was introduced for disadvantaged children in the Madras Municipal Corporation. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and the UT of Pondicherry had universalised a cooked midday meal programme with their resources for primary students by the 1980s. The Union government launched the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, a nationwide mid-day meal scheme, on August 15, 1995, to ensure enrollment, retention, and attendance, as well as improve nutritional levels among children across India. 'In Tamil Nadu, M Singaravelar, a member of the erstwhile Madras Municipal Corporation in the 1920s, took the initiative to introduce the first ever Midday Meal Scheme for marginalised children under the Corporation limits. Later, it was transformed into a fully-funded government scheme along with the inclusion of vegetables, fruits and pulses into the menu,' said P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN). The Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), which was introduced for an initial five-year period (2021–22 to 2025–26), aimed to provide one cooked meal to students up to Class 8 in Government and Government-aided schools. It replaced the earlier midday meal scheme, launched in 1995, which focused on universalising primary education. PM-POSHAN's cost is shared by the Centre and States on a 60:40 basis, with the Centre supplying foodgrains. Taking the vision to the next level, Tamil Nadu launched the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme on September 15, 2022. Initially rolled out in 1,545 government schools, the programme covered over 1.14 lakh primary school students from Classes 1 to 5. The scheme, designed to eradicate hunger, malnutrition, anaemia, vitamin B12 deficiency and underweight conditions, has already shown measurable impact. According to the State Planning Commission, attendance rose in 1,319 participating schools so far. Building on this momentum, the State government has announced that from July 15, 2025, the scheme will be expanded to include all government-aided schools in urban areas, thereby bringing all government and aided schools under its ambit. As of now, more than 17.53 lakh students across 34,987 government and aided schools are receiving breakfast under the scheme. Undeniable results A 2024 systematic review of 31 studies on the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme in India found that regular access to MDM consistently improved enrolment, attendance, retention, and even learning outcomes, though nutritional improvements varied. Educationalist Ms. Aruna Ratnam, who previously worked with the UNICEF, said primary school attendance improved after the introduction of the midday meal scheme. 'A study by economist Jean Dreze found that primary school attendance improved in the 1990s following the universalisation of the midday meal scheme. It was achieved way before the introduction of schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, introduced in 2001,' she said. Dipa Sinha, an independent development economist and researcher associated with the Right to Food Campaign—an informal network of organisations and individuals working to ensure food is recognised as a fundamental right—said midday meals have helped bring children to schools and retain them there, particularly those from backward communities. 'It also addresses the issue of classroom hunger as many children, who come to school without having breakfast, can have a meal. That, in turn, improves their learning,' she said. 'We take loans to fund the meals' Vasudha (name changed), a headteacher at a government-aided school of Kerala's Kozhikode district, gets barely enough time to juggle between academic duties and regular administrative responsibilities as the new decision by the State's education department to introduce new dishes like Egg Fried Rice has caused immense pressure on her to find sponsors for each day. 'My school has nearly 650 students and all of them take meals from the school. I have to spend more than half a day to ensure that all are being fed on time. It severely affects my academic duties,' said Vasudha. She claimed that the delay in disbursing funds has forced teachers to spend more than ₹ 50,000 from their pockets to manage their weekly requirements. The Kerala government currently allocates ₹ 6.78 and ₹ 10.17 for midday meals per child a day in lower primary and upper primary classes respectively, less than half of what schools actually spend. 'We have been struggling to get funds from the government for midday meal schemes for the last 4-5 years. Some teachers had to take loans to meet these expenses last year,' she said. Vasudha pointed out that even when payments are cleared, they often arrive after a delay of three to four months, and usually in instalments. 'We won't receive the amount of vegetables, eggs, and milk together, and we have to visit the offices multiple times to complete the process. But we have to settle the expenses with shopkeepers and milkmen every week. With this new menu, we will have to find at least ₹ 40 per child. Besides, we will have to spend ₹ 7 for an egg, ₹ 60 for milk twice a week, ₹ 12,000 for LPG for a month, and transportation charges for foodgrains. Be it the regular rice and grain or the new dishes, we are permitted to appoint only one cook to prepare for 500 students. We could only use LPG for cooking as the government has mandated it to promote a sense of environmental protection among the students. We are clueless about how to manage these skyrocketing expenses,' she said. Other Indian States are no exception. Schools across India are grappling with the lack of support through the PM-POSHAN scheme despite statistics revealing that the midday meal scheme has shown significant progress in student retention rates. 'We receive only ₹ 4 and ₹ 6.19 per child for lower and upper primary classes. ₹ 4 is allocated to provide fruits for each child every Monday. Apart from this, the government provides wheat and rice of 100 grams for each child from the government ration shop, but we have to bear the transportation cost of bringing grains from the outlet to the school. Besides, we aren't receiving any separate funds for grinding the wheat,' said a headmaster from Azamgarh of Uttar Pradesh. He pointed out that, of late, funds are being disbursed late. 'With the current inflation, these funds were never sufficient. We are providing 100 grams of milk every Wednesday by spending from our pockets. We are not receiving the funds for the mid-day meal scheme every month. The grant is often given after 3 months or 6 months without any specific timelines. With the current grant, we won't be able to feed everyone. The government believes that only 80% of the children require food and the remaining 20% of children bring tiffin from home. But in reality, the majority of the children aren't able to afford such luxuries and all of them eat their lunch from the school,' he added. Educationist Anil Sadgopal claims that universalised midday meals are still a distant dream in States like Bihar. Sadgopal, who was part of Bihar's Common School System Commission in 2007, recommended universalising school education until Class 10 to provide equitable quality for all students through initiatives like the midday meal scheme. 'There is a complete mismanagement in midday meal schemes in Bihar. Back in 2007, our Commission submitted a set of recommendations calling for universalised nutritious mid-day meals cooked by trained staff. But the proposals were shelved. Six years later, in 2013, 23 children lost their lives and over 100 were hospitalised after consuming contaminated food in a school meal. More than a decade on, nothing has changed and there are various areas in the State where the scheme is blatantly absent,' said Sadgopal. Caste-based discrimination Caste-based discrimination has been reported in serving and consuming mid-day meals. Discriminatory practices, such as separate seating arrangements or denial of meals based on caste, have been reported in both Northern and Southern States, breaching the principles of equality and inclusion. Students from marginalised communities often face social exclusion in accessing mid-day meals. Madhu Prasad, a former philosophy professor at Delhi University and a veteran activist working for equitable access to quality education for all children, claimed that caste-based discrimination is very prevalent across public schools in the Delhi NCR region. 'Dalit children are still made to sit separately in dining areas and teachers are putting down food into their bowls without bending down. There are instances of parents avoiding school meals if the cook was a Dalit. Following complaints from parents, many schools in the NCR region had removed these cooks as well,' she said. South India is also facing a similar challenge and experts feel that the midday meal scheme brings in an aspect of social dining amidst the issues of caste-based discrimination. 'Caste is indeed a major issue in this scheme in Tamil Nadu. There are places where dominant caste groups won't consume lunch prepared by female cooks from non-dominant or marginalised castes. However, teachers are making an effort to ensure that children do eat their midday meals. With the introduction of breakfast in schools, the situation has improved a lot these days,' said Ms. Ratnam. Is PM-POSHAN effective on the ground? The PM-POSHAN scheme, on the other hand, introduced as a solution for classroom hunger, has its own lapses. The scheme covers about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools across the country. In 2020–21, the Centre spent more than ₹24,400 crore on the scheme, with nearly ₹11,500 crore earmarked for food grains. The total approved outlay stands at ₹54,061.73 crore from the Central Government and ₹31,733.17 crore from States and Union Territories. However, activists point out that the scheme has a 'one size fits all' approach that is unsuitable for several states with unique challenges. 'The PM-POSHAN scheme, in its current form, falls far short of its intended goals. Proposals like setting up nutrition gardens in schools or implementing IT-based monitoring systems are largely tokenistic and disconnected from on-ground realities, especially in rural or under-resourced areas. Other than the cosmetic rebranding of the old Midday Meal Scheme, the initiative offers nothing in terms of meaningful nutritional innovation. What's urgently needed is a serious overhaul incorporating a scientifically designed meal plan and the inclusion of breakfast and nutritional snacks to address classroom hunger and malnutrition,' said Ms. Prasad. Echoing a similar view, Ms. Sinha opined that the PM-POSHAN scheme has always had a disparity in terms of fund allocation. 'Many States in the South are receiving only the basic minimum required resources as per norms while several North Indian states are getting more than what the norm requires them to provide. Financial assistance to procure items like eggs are not provided to all the States. The scheme isn't bridging the gap of state-level disparities, but providing only basic minimum resources across all States,' she said. Tamil Nadu appears to be at the forefront of bridging critical nutritional and implementation gaps in the midday meal scheme with its proactive initiatives, outperforming many other States. Ms. Ratnam attributes this to the Dravidian model of investment in education and health. This approach is said to have ensured that all schools are seamlessly implementing these schemes. 'Awareness among the general public and elected officials plays a crucial role in the wide reach and success of these schemes. Around 97% of Tamil Nadu has definitely been covered in the scheme and is showing huge results on the ground. Although teachers are burdened with statistical duties connected with the midday meal scheme, they do see the reasoning behind it. In Tamil Nadu, schools have started assessing the BMIs of students. Meanwhile, Anganwadis have turned into a crucial feeding centre for kids along with duties like immunisation. All these initiatives help ensure that the effect of malnutrition at such a young age is eliminated,' said Ms Ratnam. 'The school dropout rate, particularly for girls, has drastically reduced up to Class 12 and more girls are showing interest in education,' she said. Way forward Experts point out that States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha offer successful models that can be replicated across the country by adapting to the local requirements. 'Even States like Tamil Nadu aren't able to handle exceptional cases as issues that come outside the purview of department-driven programmes become a problem. They won't be able to deal psychosocial areas related to these schemes. This is where NGOs can play a crucial role as they have funding and expertise to address them without involvement of the State,' Ms Ratnam said. Ms. Sinha has called for better financial assistance from the Centre for the scheme. 'The resource-generating capacity of the State governments has become limited and the funding must come from the Centre as the majority of taxes are collected by the Union government and some of these initiatives are centrally-sponsored schemes. It is the children who ultimately suffer due to these shortages in the end. While States continue to manage these schemes amidst the shortage in resources, the fiscal space to bring innovative measures has also become limited. The norms and structures of the scheme were created with the expectation that these funds and resources would be provided. There are numerous cases of funds being withheld with claims that some norms are not followed,' said Ms. Sinha. Experts pointed out that customising midday meals for a specific population has been a weakness in almost all States. 'The more local these schemes are, the better it is for the general population. Kerala has a good model with grassroots level participation to provide nutrition, childcare and child rights. It ensures a community-level approach,' said Ms Ratnam.
New Indian Express
21-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Odisha increases mid-day meals allocation by Rs 2.92 per student
BHUBANESWAR: The cost of mid-day meals (MDM) in the state was hiked again on Thursday, owing to the introduction of an additional egg and nutritional laddoos for school students. The School and Mass Education department notified on Thursday that the government has enhanced the material cost by an additional amount of Rs 2.92 per student for both primary and upper primary students, bringing the revised cost to Rs 11.15 for primary and Rs 14.74 for upper primary per student per day. Earlier this year, the state government introduced MDM for students of Class IX and X of government and government-aided schools and also decided to give all students, starting from Sishu Vatikas to Class X, three eggs and as many nutri-rich laddoos in MDM every week. From April 1, students received eggs in their meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and nutri-rich laddoos on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in morning assembly. The MDM is provided under the PM-POSHAN scheme which is implemented in a 60:40 cost sharing pattern between the Centre and state. At present, the Centre has fixed the material cost at Rs 6.78 for primary and Rs 10.17 for upper primary per day, since May 1. The state government provides an additional material cost of Rs 1.45 for primary and Rs 1.65 for upper primary per student per day. This brings the total material cost of MDM to Rs 8.23 for primary and Rs 11.82 for upper primary. The financial implication of MDM for Class IX and X students, additional egg and three laddoos, amounting to Rs 570.71 crore annually, will be borne from the state Budget under the Mukhyamantri Poshan Yojana.
The Hindu
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
47 Tamil medium students now will be part of midday meal scheme in Idukki
As many as 47 upper primary (UP) Tamil medium students of the Udumbanchola Government High School in Idukki will now be part of the midday meal scheme. According to officials, a lower primary Tamil medium school began in the tea plantation sector of Udumbanchola in 1999. The State government upgraded this school to a high school in the 2011-12 academic year. However, the upper primary section of the school was functioning here without a government approval. Therefore, the UP students were not eligible for the midday meal scheme or other government assistance. In February 2024, the headteacher of the school submitted an application to the Food Commission, requesting to include the upper primary students in the midday meal scheme. Based on this request, the Food Commission asked the Deputy Director of Education in Idukki to provide a report, which recommended to include the students in the scheme. Order issued The Food Commission had in November 2024 directed the State government to take steps to include the students in the scheme. The Director of General Education was recently issued an order to include the students in the scheme. State Food Commission Chairperson Ginu Zacharia Oommen said that the 47 upper primary students belong to the plantation sector and are from low-income families. 'The Commission had asked the State government to consider this a special case and to include the students in the midday meal scheme,' said Dr. Oommen. The midday meal scheme will be helpful to the students as well as their parents,' he added. According to officials, only students in government approved schools are eligible for the midday meal scheme (officially known as PM-POSHAN), a Centrally-sponsored scheme.
Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
50% students left out of mid-day meal, Centre seeks report from state
A sharp decline in the number of students availing the Mid-Day Meal (PM-POSHAN) in West Bengal — 10 lakh fewer students availing the scheme in 2025-26 as compared to 2023-24 – points to increasing school dropouts in the state. According to the latest minutes of the Programme Approval Board (PAB) under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), more than 40 per cent of enrolled students did not avail of the mid-day meal in 2024-25 in 15 districts of the state, with Cooch Behar having the least coverage of 46 per cent. Expressing 'serious concern' over this trend, the Additional Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India, has sought a report from the West Bengal government by June 30. The PAB noted a reduction of 4.01 lakh in students' enrolment from 2023-24 to 2024-25, and a decrease of 8.04 lakh in actual student coverage. The state's proposed enrolment for 2025-26 has dropped by another 6 lakh students. 'The PAB expressed that efforts may be made to cover all the eligible students under the (Mid-Day Meal) scheme,' the minutes of PAB read. While coverage of the PM-Poshan at the pre-primary and primary levels stood at 78 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively, it fell sharply at the upper primary level to just 58 per cent according to the minute's data. According to the data, 1,13,44,146 students were enrolled in PM-POSHAN in 2024-25. However, only 77,91,946 — about 69 per cent — received meals. The numbers were worse in districts like Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Paschim Bardhaman, and North 24 Parganas districts, where less than half the enrolled students availed the meals. (See box) For 2025-26, the PAB has approved coverage for 80,16,881 students—7,25,624 in balvatika (pre-primary), 48,09,138 in primary, and 24,82,119 in upper primary classes, according to the minutes. The minutes also flagged irregularities in fund management. 'The PAB expressed concern that some schools, implementing agencies, and municipal corporations are still holding funds outside the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) accounts. The state has been advised to transfer these funds immediately and take action against officials responsible for the delays and violations of Government of India guidelines,' the minutes noted. Sources in the state School Education Department cited an increased dropout rate, especially at the upper primary level, as a key reason for the falling numbers. 'It is common practice to avail maximum funds. Sometimes the state gives increased numbers as enrolled students. But, in this case, the actual number of students is much less, which means dropout rates have increased in the state education system,' said a senior official of the state education department. He added that frequent long vacations, decreasing school days, and a widening teacher-student ratio due to unfilled vacancies have all contributed to students leaving the system. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Students moving away from govt schools, disturbing: Centre to states
Pointing to the 'disturbing trend' of students 'moving away from government schools', and the steady increase in private school enrolment in states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Education has asked them to take steps to reverse the trend, official documents show. The enrolment of students came up in meetings that the Education Ministry held with states in March and April to discuss projects for 2025-26 under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. In 10 of the 30 states and Union Territories, minutes of meetings made public so far show, the Union ministry has raised the matter of increasing or higher enrolments in private schools, despite the presence of a higher number of government schools. Additionally, across eight of the 30 states and UTs, the ministry has pointed to decreasing enrolments in government and aided schools. The issue of decreasing enrolments in government schools was also raised in recent meetings that the Ministry had with the states on the PM-POSHAN or midday meal scheme. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, for instance, the secretary of the Education Ministry's Department of School Education and Literacy 'expressed his concerns that in spite of spending a large amount of funds, students are moving away from government schools, which is a disturbing trend'. The minutes of the ministry's meeting with Andhra Pradesh refer to UDISE+ data from 2023-24 to state that out of the 61,373 schools in the state, around 73 per cent (45,000) are government schools, and around 25 per cent (15,232) are private. However, enrolment in government schools is around 46 per cent of the total, while those in private schools is a little more than 52 per cent, according to the minutes. 'Enrolment trend during 2021-22 to 2023-24 suggests that enrolment in unaided schools is steadily increasing,' the minutes state. In Telangana and Uttarakhand, the minutes state that enrolment during the 2018-19 to 2023-24 period suggests that 'except during 2021-22 (COVID-19)', unaided schools witnessed a steady increase. In Telangana, the minutes refer to UDISE+ 2023-24 data to point out that 70 per cent of the 42,901 schools in the state are of the government, but their enrolment accounts for only 38.11 per cent of the total, compared to 60.75 per cent in private schools. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, close to 72 per cent of the total number of schools are of the government. 'However, total enrolment in government schools is only 36.68 per cent as compared to 54.39 per cent enrolment in unaided schools,' the minutes read. In the case of Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana, the secretary has suggested that the state 'should make a sincere analysis of the root cause so as to take remedial steps and to reverse this trend'. In Tamil Nadu, the Union ministry has pointed out that government schools constitute 64 per cent of the total, and account for 37 per cent of enrolment. In contrast, unaided schools make up 21 per cent of the total, and account for 46 per cent of enrolment. 'In this regard, the State was urged to build the government school brand so as to increase enrolment and make the best use of the available resources,' the minutes state. In Kerala and Maharashtra, the Union ministry flagged a drop in government and aided school enrolments in 2023-24 compared to 2018-19 in Maharashtra, and compared to 2022-23 in Kerala. In response, these states have said they have done a 'data cleansing exercise using Aadhaar verification'. In Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, the ministry has raised a drop in enrolment in government and aided schools in 2023-24 compared to figures in 2018-19 for some states and 2022-23 for others. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, the Education Ministry has noted that enrolment in private schools is higher compared to government schools, and has referred to this as a 'matter of concern.' A senior official in the Ministry of Education said private school enrolments are particularly high in the junior classes, and that states have been asked to check for reasons for the drop in government school enrolment. The official said, 'With aspirations, demand for private schools has also gone up.' The meetings on the PM-POSHAN scheme referred to a drop in enrolment in government and aided schools, with officials citing a data clean-up and a move to private schools in the post-Covid years as possible reasons. The UDISE+ 2023-24 data shows that private school enrolment accounts for 36 per cent (a little over 9 crore) of the total of 24.80 crore. In 2022-23, private school enrolment was 33 per cent of the total, the same as in 2021-22, and a little less than the 36 per cent recorded in 2020-21. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20, private school enrolment accounted for 37 per cent of the total.
