PM POSHAN Scheme Gets Centre’s Approval

In News

• The existing Mid-Day Meal scheme will be renamed as National Scheme for PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN).
  • The Mid Day Meal scheme provides hot meals to school students.

About PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN)

• Budgetary Allocation:
  • A total budget of over Rs 1.3 lakh crore has been allocated for the continuation of the scheme for 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
    • Of this, the central government will contribute Rs 54061.73 crore.
    • While the state governments and union territory administrations will provide Rs 31,733.17 crore. 
    • The Centre will also bear an additional cost of about Rs 45,000 crore on food grains.
• Target Group:
  • The scheme aims to cover 11.80 crore children in 11.20 lakh schools.
  • All school-going students of classes I to VIII, studying in government and government-aided schools, are eligible to avail the benefits.
• Cooking Competitions:
  • Cooking competitions will be encouraged at all levels to promote ethnic cuisines and culture in line with Vocal for Local.
• Nutrition Gardens:
  • Kitchen gardens and school gardens will also be promoted under this scheme.
    • They have been named as Nutrition Gardens.
  • They can help to strengthen food security and improve income generation and livelihoods.
• Balvatikas:
  • An additional Rs. 266 crore is expected to be added as the Central government’s share to cater to balvatika students from 2022-23.
  • Extension of mid-day meals to pre-primary students was a key recommendation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
    • Pre-primary students are to be incorporated into the formal education system under the same NEP 2020.
• Holistic nutrition goals:
  • The Policy provisions have also added a 5 percent flexi component into the existing budget to allow States to incorporate 
    • additional nutrition-rich elements — such as fortified foods, fruits and milk — into the menu. 
    • Use of locally grown traditional foods will be encouraged, along with school nutrition gardens.
• Social audits:
  • It has been made mandatory in all districts.
  • College students and trainee teachers will be roped in to do field inspections to ensure the quality of meals.
• Direct Benefit Transfer:
  • States will be asked to do direct benefit cash transfers of 
    • cooking costs to individual school accounts, and 
    • honorarium amounts to the bank accounts of cooks and helpers.

Source: IE

Expected Benefits of the Launched Scheme

• Tackle Malnutrition among school going children:
  • The ‘Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman’ scheme will address malnutrition among school-going children in the country.
• Achieve Right to Food and SDGs:
  • Right to Food was a statutory right as well as an important part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the SDGs.
• Encourage FPOs and Women SHGs:
  • As per Education Minister, the scheme will encourage the participation of
    • Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) and 
    • Women Self-Help Groups in the implementation of the scheme.
• Help the Aspirational and Tribal Districts:
  • The scheme will provide “supplementary nutrition in aspirational and tribal districts and districts with high prevalence of anemia.
• Promotion of ethnic cuisines and culture:
  • Various cooking competitions will help in highlighting the local cuisines.
• Livelihood Generation and Awareness among students:
  • Nutritional Gardens will help in generating awareness among students and youth regarding agriculture.
  • They will also help in livelihood generation for poors who can sell a small part of their products.
• Promote transparency and reduce leakages:
  • Steps like DBT and Social audit will promote transparency and plug leakages.

Possible Challenges/ Criticism

• Need of including Breakfast in Mid Day meal has been ignored:
  • The NEP 2020 also recommended including breakfast in the mid day meal scheme.
  • Till now there is no additional budget allocated for the same.
• Heavy funding Crunch:
  • School Education Department’s budget for this year has been cut by almost ?5,000 crore
• No increase in monthly honorarium to Cooks:
  • The rebranded scheme does not include any progress on the long-pending demand of cooks to increase the Rs. 600 allocated by the Centre as their monthly honorarium.
  • The centre has shifted this onus on State Government’s wish.
• Poor Quality of Food:
  • Many cooks are not very well trained for cooking food.
• Distraction from studies:
  • As the teaching staff is diverted for monitoring food distribution, it hampers the learning output of students.

Conclusion and Way Forward

• The scheme is a milestone towards the Fit India Movement and can be rationalised using following steps:
  • Include Breakfast in the Mid-day meal as recommended by NEP 2020.
  • Outsourcing the food contract for children and keeping a strict quality check to free teachers for better learning output..
  • Proper training and increased salary of Cooks and other helping staff.

Source: IE, TH