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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Kitchen gardens and school gardens will also be promoted under this scheme.
- 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.
- The Policy provisions have also added a 5 percent flexi component into the existing budget to allow States to incorporate
- 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.
- States will be asked to do direct benefit cash transfers of
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.
- As per Education Minister, the scheme will encourage the participation of
- 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.
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