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Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Goa schools' Tithi Bhojan serves 1L meals supplemented by community members
Panaji: Schools in Goa have been implementing the concept of 'Tithi Bhojan', recommended by Centre as part of the midday meal scheme, to encourage community participation. As part of Tithi Bhojan, members of the community provide children of a neighbourhood school with either an additional food item to their midday meal or a full meal on special occasions, such as festivals. The concept was implemented from the last academic year, and over 1 lakh meals were provided to 1,021 schools by community members, official data shows. Tithi Bhojan was introduced to involve community members in the neighbourhood school system. It also helps supplement the regular midday meal offered to children and makes the menu diverse and interesting. While reviewing the midday meal scheme implementation in Goa, the project approval board (PAB) of Centre noted that although the move by Goa schools to implement Tithi Bhojan is appreciable, there is still a huge potential for involving the community in the scheme. 'Setting up school nutrition gardens and enhanced community participation through Tithi Bhojan will go a long way in ensuring the enrichment of meals under the PM Poshan scheme,' the PAB told Goa officials during the review held in April. The PAB has also recommended that to further improve community involvement in the midday meal scheme, the state should 'take necessary steps to create a group of parents, preferably mothers, to taste the meals on a roster basis at the school level, on the lines of 'Maa Samooh' in Uttar Pradesh and 'Atithi Mata' in Rajasthan.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like I lost my wife, now my son is in danger, please help him! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Tithi Bhojan is based on the traditional practice of providing food to a large number of people on landmark occasions, including anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, and days of national importance. It is not to be a substitute for the midday meal but to be a supplement. It is fully voluntary, and the people in the community contribute either a full meal or items in the form of sweets, namkeens, fruits, or sprouts as an addition to the midday meal. States have also been told to adopt a local name for the Tithi Bhojan. Eleven states have implemented the scheme with names, such as Sampriti Bhojan in Assam and Priti Bhojan in Punjab.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Joshi outlines food grain distribution plans during FCI warehouse visit
Hubballi: Union minister Pralhad Joshi announced measures for the proper distribution of food grains to eligible ration recipients. The initiative includes identifying fraudulent ration holders, cancelling invalid cards, and ensuring quality food distribution. During his inspection of the Food Corporation of India's (FCI) warehouse in Unakal, Joshi highlighted the corporation's ongoing efforts to supply food grains according to the National Food Security Act (NFSA). He emphasised the implementation of technology to minimise food waste and outlined specific storage guidelines, including proper medication protocols. Additionally, he noted that transport vehicles now feature GPS tracking for monitoring purposes. The Unakal facility serves NFSA, PM Poshan, Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP), welfare institutions, and hostel schemes in Dharwad and select taluks of Uttara Kannada district. For 2024-25, the godown released 13,553 metric tonnes of food grains. The Hubballi division, overseeing seven revenue districts, distributed 6,08,270 metric tonnes of rice and 29,423 metric tonnes of wheat across various schemes. The corporation provided 24,85,799 tonnes of rice free of cost to NFSA cardholders statewide. Under open market sales, 4,60,959 tonnes of rice and 1,05,065 tonnes of wheat were sold to regulate market prices. The PM Poshan scheme received 1,06,895 tonnes for school midday meals. Since Feb, the state govt has acquired 2,42,000 tonnes monthly for the Annabhagya scheme. The state's food grain procurement includes paddy, ragi, and jola purchases through the central govt's minimum support scheme. Current paddy production stands at 33.4 lakh metric tonnes, with 510 metric tonnes purchased this year. Ragi and jowar production reached 9.4 and 7.7 lakh metric tonnes, respectively, while purchases of 3.5 and 1.93 lakh metric tonnes, respectively were recorded. Senior officials of FCI and others were present.
Hindustan Times
23-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Battle against salt must begin with school meals
Salt in Indian diets holds a special place, not just in our kitchens, but also in our history, language and even politics. It was salt, after all, that Mahatma Gandhi chose as a symbol of resistance against British colonial rule. Even today, the phrase 'namak ka farz' (the duty of salt) speaks to a deep cultural association between salt and loyalty, sacrifice, and trust. But while salt is rich in symbolism and tradition, it's also quietly contributing to a serious health crisis in India today. Dietary habits formed early in life tend to persist, excessive salt consumption during childhood can shape taste preferences, making children more likely to prefer salty foods later in life. (HT Photo) Excess salt consumption is a major contributor to high blood pressure, which significantly increases the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs have contributed to more than 60% of all deaths in India over the past decade, with CVDs constituting a quarter of these diseases. Hypertension is a leading cause of the problem, given that approximately one in four Indian adults suffers from the condition. This crisis is not just limited to adults. The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) (2016-18) found that 5% of Indian adolescents between 10 to 19 years old are hypertensive. This is a concerning statistic, as children with hypertension have about seven times higher odds of developing hypertension in adulthood. Moreover, dietary habits formed early in life tend to persist, excessive salt consumption during childhood can shape taste preferences, making children more likely to prefer salty foods later in life. Research indicates the typical daily salt intake for Indians ranges from 8-11 grams of salt. This is double WHO's recommended daily salt intake of less than 5 grams. The recommended intake for children is below 4 grams of salt. Against this backdrop, a compelling strategy to address this silent crisis is to improve what children eat at school. PM Poshan (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman), India's critical school meal programme, provides cooked meals daily to 118 million students across 1.12 million schools. Each PM Poshan meal accounts for 25-30% of a child's daily nutritional requirements, making it important to ensure that they are wholesome and nutritious. Initiatives like school nutrition gardens, or Poshan Vatikas, under the scheme are a positive step, encouraging the use of fresh ingredients and healthier food habits. School meals can be made healthier by reducing salt, a key proposed policy intervention outlined in the National Multisectoral Action Plan to combat NCDs (2017–22). This will help achieve India's national goal to cut population-level salt intake by 30% by 2025. While PM Poshan guidelines specify nutritional norms for calories, proteins and various food groups, they offer a broad recommendation to add salt 'as per taste'. Introducing standards to require a gradual reduction of salt in PM Poshan will help reduce salt intake among school children and also modify their taste towards low salt food. Globally, countries are adopting comprehensive strategies to make public food healthier. These include limiting the use of ultra-processed foods, and prioritising fresh, nutrient-rich ingredients in public food programmes. These experiences exhibit success stories in ensuring healthy public food procurement. Singapore mandates lower-sodium menus across government institutions. In Brazil, school feeding programmes emphasise fresh, minimally processed foods while reducing ultra-processed ingredients. Chile has introduced front-of-pack warning labels and prohibits high-sodium foods in school kiosks. India, too, has a well-designed school meals policy that reflects many of these principles, such as the use of fortified staples, provision of mid-day meals, and adherence to nutritional guidelines. The impact of these provisions could be further strengthened through consistent implementation and enforcement of FSSAI's regulation on promoting healthy food environments in schools by restricting the availability and marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars, and sodium (HFSS). As a first step, we must set clear, age-specific salt standards at the population level, beginning with PM Poshan. There should be no ambiguity about how much iodised salt is appropriate for children of different age groups. Equally important is involving parents and caregivers in this effort since children's taste preferences are shaped not only in schools and anganwadis, but also at home. This is a moment for the ministries of education and health to come together to develop and implement guidelines on salt consumption for children. Ultimately, this isn't just about cutting down on salt. It's about reimagining public health, starting with what's served on a child's plate. Urvashi Prasad was director, Niti Aayog. The views expressed are personal.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
No state/UT gets top grades in govt school performance index
Representative Image NEW DELHI: The performance gap in school education between India's top and bottom-ranking states and Union territories has narrowed from 51% in 2017-18 to 42% in the 2023-24 cycle, according to the education ministry's latest performance grading index (PGI) 2.0, suggesting that many states are catching up with the better performers. Yet, the report underscores a significant concern - none of the 36 states and UTs have reached the top four performance grades of Daksh, Utkarsh, Atti-Uttam, and Uttam. Chandigarh, with a score of 703 out of 1,000, is the only entity to enter the Prachesta-1 band (701-760), with most of the states/UTs still in lower bands. Among states, Punjab led with 631.2 points, followed by Delhi (623.7), Gujarat (614.4), and Odisha (595.6). At the bottom end were Meghalaya (417.9), Arunachal Pradesh (461.4), Mizoram (464.3), Nagaland (468.6), and Bihar (472.0), all placed in Akanshi-2 or Akanshi-3, the lowest performance tiers. PGI 2.0 evaluates school education systems across 73 indicators in six domains - learning outcomes, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, governance processes, and teacher education & training - assigning each state and UT a score out of 1,000. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Что будет, если поджечь дома лавровый лист? Undo Grades range from Daksh (top) to Akanshi-3 (bottom), based on performance on these indicators, which are derived from sources such as UDISE+, NAS 2021, PRABANDH, PM Poshan and Vidyanjali. As many as 25 states and UTs are currently in the Akanshi category (scores below 580), indicating acontinuing need for systemic improvements. At the same time, this represents a slight improvement from the 28 states/UTs in Akanshi category in 2022-23. Also, the highest grade attained has moved from Prachesta-2 to Prachesta-1. Chandigarh gets distinction "The narrowing of the inter-state performance gap is a testament to the collective efforts of states and our commitment to cooperative federalism in education," said Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. "PGI 2.0 reflects the transformational impact of NE, which has empowered states to pursue evidence-based reforms." The best performers over a two-year period were Himachal Pradesh (up 41 points to 573.8), Telangana (up 22.6 points to 511.9), Chandigarh (up 15.2 to 703), Odisha (up 11.1 to 595.6) and Goa (up 8.4 to 589.7). Delhi recorded the sharpest single-year rise - 44.4 points - driven largely by improvements in school infrastructure and teacher training. However, its 2021-22 score was not published, making it ineligible for the two-year comparative analysis. In contrast, Chhattisgarh posted the steepest decline, falling 38.6 points from 533.2 to 494.6 due to slippage in governance and equity indicators. West Bengal dropped by 14 points and Tamil Nadu registered a marginal fall of 4.5 points. A domain-wise breakdown highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of major states. Kerala, for example, stood out by becoming the only state to achieve Daksh in the teacher education & training domain, scoring 91.4 out of 100 - reflecting its consistent investment in teacher quality and professional development. Odisha showed strong equity outcomes, with one of the highest scores in bridging gender, caste, and regional disparities. Gujarat, with an overall score of 614.4, excelled in governance (87.8/130) and teacher training (83.3/100), but lagged in learning outcomes. Bihar, a state which faces longstanding educational challenges, showed some improvement in access and teacher training but continued to struggle with infrastructure, scoring only 55 out of 190 - placing it in Akanshi-1 for that domain. Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, moved up to Akanshi-1 grade with 528.1 points, driven by better equity and teacher indicators, though governance remained a weak domain. Maharashtra (582.0) entered Prachesta-3 band with gains in equity and teacher training but needs to improve in infrastructure and governance. Tamil Nadu (559.2), despite a legacy of educational progress, saw a dip in its overall score and domain-wise fall in governance and teacher metrics. The report concluded that while progress is evident, states still have significant ground to cover. "The highest grade achieved so far is only Prachesta-1, and all states/UTs still have considerable work to do to reach the 1,000-point benchmark," the ministry said. And whether they do so or not will reflect in future PGI 2.0 scores, which remain a critical monitoring and reform tool under NE to help align education systems with Sustainable Development Goal 4.
The Print
31-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Khandu lays foundation of Rs 750-cr education infra projects
A major portion of the investment focuses on strengthening educational infrastructure. This includes upgrading 39 government higher secondary schools across the state under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme at a cost of Rs 300 crore. These projects, to be executed by the Rural Works Department (RWD), are scheduled for completion in the current financial year. Itanagar, May 30 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday virtually laid the foundation stones of Rs 750-crore infrastructure development projects in the education sector. Additionally, Rs 322 crore has been earmarked for the construction of 156 hostels and teachers' quarters in all districts under the scheme. Under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), 14 high-capacity hostels with 120 beds each will be built at a cost of Rs 71.40 crore. The initiative also covers the construction of 60 bachelor barracks in rural schools with an allocation of Rs 9 crore. Further, Rs 30 crore will be used for infrastructure development at Arunachal University in Pasighat (East Siang district), while Rs 23.64 crore has been set aside for constructing 394 kitchen sheds-cum-stores under the PM Poshan scheme. 'This is in line with our commitment to successfully implement the Shikshit Arunachal 2029 Mission adopted by our government,' Khandu stated. He emphasised that the mission aims to comprehensively address infrastructure requirements in government schools, while also enacting policy reforms to revamp the state's education system. Reiterating his stance on improving quality, the chief minister announced that non-functional schools or those with zero attendance will be shut down. These will be replaced by an inter-village school model to optimise resources and outcomes. 'Over the years, in our pursuit of quantity, we compromised on quality. Under the Shikshit Arunachal Mission, we aim to elevate the standard of education to top-notch levels by 2029,' he asserted. PTI UPL UPL ACD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
