The mid-day meal scheme of government schools has been renamed as ‘National Scheme for PM-POSHAN in Schools’. The Union Cabinet has approved continuation of the scheme for another five years till 2026 with a financial outlay of Rs 54 thousand crores from the central government and Rs 31,733.17 crore from the states and Union Territories. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to his social media handles and informed, “Under the PM-POSHAN, mid-day meals have been extended to children of Balvatika in addition to children studying in Class 1 to 8 in govt. and govt-aided schools across India. This will benefit about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools.”
The Cabinet has decided to encourage the concept of ‘Tithi Bhojan’ – a community participation programme in which people provide special food to children on festivals and other special occasions. The cabinet also promotes School Nutrition Gardens to give first-hand experience to children of nature and gardening. The government has also decided to make special provisions for supplementary nutrition items to children in districts with a high Anaemia rate. It has also decided to organize cooking competitions at all levels in schools. Farmers Producer Organizations and Women Self Help Groups will be involved in the implementation of the National Scheme for PM-POSHAN in School scheme under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and to support Vocal4Local.
