Mid-Day Meal Scheme {मध्याह्न भोजन योजना}

Overview

A Mid-day Meal is a freshly cooked and healthy meal that's provided to the government school children all across India.

Background

Back in 1995, on fifteenth August, the Government of India launched the Mid-day meal scheme (MDMS) to supply the government school-going children with everyday nutritional and healthy, cooked mid-day meals.

Objectives

The Mid-day meal scheme was created to provide meals in government and government-aided schools all over India. 

• This scheme was created so that school going children do not thrive with hunger.
• Because they're getting a meal at school, the children start going regularly.
• There is an improvement in the socialization between different castes.
• The children get proper nutritional values in at least one meal a day, therefore, fighting the problem of malnutrition.
• Empowerment of all the women by way of giving them employment.

Revision and Improvement

• In the year 2001, Mid-day meal scheme changed itself to cooked mid-day meal scheme in which every child who's in primary government schools were to be given a prepped up MDM with a few minimum nutritional values such as 300 calories of energy and 8-12 grams of protein per day, for a minimum of 200 days in a year.
• In the year 2002, the government expanded the scheme. It started providing meals not only to government school children but also to children studying in Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative and innovative education (AIE) centres.
• In the year 2004, the government again updated this scheme and provided central assistance to have a cooking cost of 1 rupee per child, per school day, to cover the costs of items such a cooking oil, pulses, vegetables, fuel, etc. The money of which was payable to personnel or the amount was to be paid to the agency that was hired for the cooking. The transport subsidy was raised as-well! Earlier it was 50 rupees per quintal, it then got introduced to 100 rupees per quintal for individual States and got extended to 75 rupees per quintal for all the other states.
• In the year 2006, the government then raised the cooking cost to 1.80 rupees per child per school day for all the states lying in the North-Eastern region and grew it to 1.50 rupees per child per school day for all the other states and union territories in the country. The nutritional value of the food was also improved to 450 calories of energy and 12 grams of protein. The government also provided an amount of 60,000 rupees per unit and 5000 rupees per school to alleviate the construction of kitchen and availability of kitchen devices in all the schools across the country.
• In the year 2007, the government then revised the scheme. It expanded the system to provide the children of upper primary classes, i.e. children of levels Vl-Vlll, who was studying in Educationally backward blocks(EBBs) and the government also changed the name of the scheme from "National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education" to "National Programme of Mid-Day Meals in Schools". The nutritional value to be provided for the children of upper primary classes was set to 700 calories in energy and 20 grams of protein.
• In the year 2008, the government revised the scheme and made it valid for all the areas all over the country. Furthermore, the project got expanded to recognize as well as the unrecognized Madaras and Maqtabs that were supported under SSA.

Benefits

• Under article 24, paragraph 2c of the convention on the rights of the child, India has been dedicated to providing "adequate and appropriate nutritious food" for the government school children. The Mid-Day Meal Scheme comes under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• Under the mid-day meal scheme, the government provides free supplies and free meals to primary and upper primary classes in the government schools that come under the Ministry of Labour who are serving 120,000,000 children in more than 1,265,000 schools and education guarantee scheme centres. 
• This scheme attracts the children that come from disadvantaged sections of the society and ensures that they are regular to the school; they get proper nutrition and other benefits that come under the scheme.

Official Website

Visit the Official Website to learn more about this scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When was Mid-Day Meal Scheme Launched?

Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched on the 15th of August, 1995

Q. What is a Mid-Day Meal?

A Mid-Day Meal is a freshly cooked and nutritional meal provided in the government and government-aided schools in India.

Q. Who Gets the Benefits of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme?

The school-going children of primary and upper primary classes of the government and government-aided schools in India get the benefits of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

Q. What are the nutritional norms of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme?

The nutritional values of the food should be 450 calories of energy and 12 grams of protein for the primary classes and 700 calories of life and 20 grams of protein for upper introductory courses.

Q. What covers the Mid-day Meal Scheme?

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.