BharatNotes What is Mid-Day Meal (PM POSHAN)?
PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) is India's flagship school-feeding programme, renamed from the Mid-Day Meal Scheme when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved its restructured continuation on 29 September 2021 for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total outlay of about ₹1.31 lakh crore (Centre ~₹54,062 crore + States/UTs ~₹31,733 crore). It guarantees one hot cooked meal on every school day to eligible children, and is the world's largest school meal programme of its kind.
Administered by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, it is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and a legal entitlement under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Funding is generally shared in a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and most States/UTs.
Coverage and nutritional norms
The scheme covers children of Bal Vatika (pre-primary) and Classes I-VIII in government and government-aided schools — about 11.80 crore children across 11.20 lakh schools as projected at relaunch (2021), though reported beneficiaries have since declined (12.16 crore in 2022-23 to about 10.99 crore in 2024-25, per parliamentary committee data).
| Level | Food grains/day | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary (Classes I-V) | 100 g | 450 kcal | 12 g |
| Upper Primary (Classes VI-VIII) | 150 g | 700 kcal | 20 g |
Meals must include pulses, vegetables and oil/fat to meet these norms.
Key features of the 2021 restructuring
- Bal Vatika included: pre-primary children (before Class I) brought under cooked-meal coverage.
- Tithi Bhojan: a community-participation tradition where people contribute special food on festivals/occasions, supplementing the regular meal.
- School Nutrition (Kitchen) Gardens: schools grow vegetables/herbs for first-hand exposure to nature and supplementary nutrition.
- Social audit made mandatory in every district; nutritional supplementation in aspirational districts and high-anaemia areas.
- Direct benefit and cook-cum-helper honorarium and cooking cost paid through transparent mechanisms.
Current status (as of 2025-26)
The Union Budget 2025-26 allocated ₹12,500 crore to PM POSHAN (a marginal ₹32.61 crore rise over BE 2024-25). Cooking/material cost was revised effective 1 May 2025 — raised to ₹6.78 per child per day for Bal Vatika/primary and ₹10.17 for upper primary. A parliamentary panel has flagged persistent under-utilisation of funds and a fall in beneficiaries, alongside food-safety concerns.
UPSC angle
For Mains (GS2), evaluate PM POSHAN on the welfare-rights spectrum: it advances the right to food (Article 21), the Directive Principles (Articles 39(f), 45, 47), enrolment and retention, and gender/caste equity at a shared table — while contending with quality, hygiene, fund flow and declining-coverage challenges. For Prelims, lock in the nodal ministry, the NFSA, 2013 anchor, the 60:40 ratio, Bal Vatika inclusion, and the Tithi Bhojan / Nutrition Garden components. Cross-link with NFSA, POSHAN Abhiyaan and the SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) framework.
