PM Poshan: Mid Day Meal Scheme – History, Features, Objectives

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PM Poshan: Mid Day Meal Scheme – History, Features, Objectives: The Mid Day Meal Scheme commonly abbreviated as MDMS is a scheme launched by the government of Madras with the objective of providing at least one properly nutritious meal to students who come from a financially backward society and cannot afford a proper meal. Under this scheme cooked meals with necessary nutritious value are provided to students ages 6 to 14. Every student studying in government-aided schools is served these meals. This article summarizes all the necessary details about the scheme such as the history, the features, and the benefits provided by the scheme. 

Mid Day Meal Scheme

Mid Day Meal Scheme

The Mid Day Meal Scheme or MDMS is a program sponsored by the Indian government operating with the objective of providing healthy meals to school-going children. The main goal of this scheme is to increase the enrollment of students in schools and provide the necessary nutrition to students in need. The scheme also aims to increase the attendance of students in the schools through this scheme. In hopes of getting a proper meal, the students attend the schools and this results in better education. 

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Mid Day Meal Scheme: History

The scheme was first introduced by the government of Madras in the year 1925. It was launched to provide proper meals to those financially disadvantaged students attending government schools. The scheme later expanded to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujrat, and Pondicherry in the mid-1980s. Other states also implemented the scheme as time passed. On 15th August 1995, the Indian government implemented the scheme across the nation.

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 In 2001, the Supreme Court ordered the state governments to provide cooked meals to the students. Karnataka, Odisha, and West Bengal received international assistance to support the scheme, whereas Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan depended entirely on foreign aid. 

Mid Day Meal Scheme: Objective

The Mid Day Meal Program was launched for the benefit of financially disabled students with the following objectives.

  • To increase the attendance and enrollment of students in primary education.
  • To provide healthy meals and increase the levels of nutrition among school-going children. 
  • To introduce gender equality in education and nutrition.
  • To decrease caste discrimination and inequalities.
  • To end classroom hunger.

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Mid Day Meal Scheme: Features

MDMS is named to be the largest school feeding scheme across the globe because of the following features.

  • 450 calories along with 12 grams of protein at the primary level, and 700 calories along with 20 grams of protein at the upper primary level are provided to each student through this scheme.
  • The scheme is controlled by the central government and the expenses are shared by the central and state government.
  • Free grains are provided by the state for the scheme.
  • The contributions made by the state governments to the scheme vary depending on the need.
  • Ministry of Education implements and controls it.
  • AGMARK quality items are purchased by the states for the scheme to ensure the students get quality meals.
  • Meals must be served on the school premises and the schools need to maintain hygienic cooking facilities for it.
  • SMCs are needed by the Right to Education Act.
  • Headmasters may use the funds provided for the scheme unless they reimburse it.
  • The State FDA may check the quality of the meal.
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Mid Day Meal Scheme: Structure

The Mid Day Meal Program can be implemented by the State governments using any of the following models.

  • Centralised Model – Food is cooked by some service provider and is distributed among the students.
  • Decentralised Model – Food is cooked inside the school premises with the help of the local self-help groups and then distributed among the students.
  • International assistance – The school receives aid from international organizations to implement the scheme.

Mid Day Meal Scheme: Beneficiaries 

All the students from Class 1 to Class 8 studying in any government-aided school, Special training centres, Madrasas and Maktabs that are supported by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Schools running under the alternative and innovative education and child labour project, and the schools affected by draughts in the summer vacations. 

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Mid Day Meal Scheme Renamed as PM Poshan

MDMS was renamed PM Poshan Shakti in September 2021 by the ruling government as it continues to focus on providing healthy meals to the students studying in government schools including an additional 24 lakh students with fewer interventions, unlike MDMS. The financial structure will follow a 60:40 structure between the central and state governments.

It is now a part of the Niti Ayog which will be monitoring and conducting the reviews across the country. The scheme will now use technology to track the status of the scheme. 

Mid Day Meal Scheme: Rules

The rules regarding the Mid Day Meals were declared by the government.in September of 2015  according to the NFSA. Given below are some of the rules notified by the government regarding the Mid Day Meals.

  • Every student studying in government schools who is under the age group of 6 to 14 years will be provided meals free of cost. 
  • The meals will be served only inside the school premises to ensure attendance.
  • The food being served to the students will be the Government Food Research Laboratory for nutritional standards.
  • Food security allowance will be paid to the students if the school fails to serve cooked meals for any reason.
  • The implementation and monitoring of the scheme is the responsibility of the State-Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee.
  • The headmasters are allowed to use the funds provided for the scheme in case of unavailability of food grains.
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Conclusion

The Mid Day Meal Scheme benefits more than 11 Crore children across the country and ensures they receive quality meals at least one time a day. This scheme helps the government tackle both malnutrition and lack of education in the financially backward section of society. The international offers of assistance globalized the scheme and earned great appreciation from India across the globe.

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