The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the continuation of ‘National Scheme for PM POSHAN in Schools’ for the five year period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Details
Newly launched Prime Minister POSHAN scheme or PM-POSHAN scheme will provide one cooked hot meal in government and government-aided schools.
The centrally sponsored scheme will replace the existing national programme for mid-day meal in schools or Mid-day Meal Scheme.
Thus, the existing Mid-Day Meal scheme, which provides hot meals to students, will be renamed as the National Scheme for PM Poshan Shakti Nirman.
The scheme will cover 11.8 crore students enrolled in classes 1 to 8in over 11.2 lakh schools across the country.
The scheme will be extended to students studying in pre-primary or Balvatikas running in government and government aided primary schools.
Currently, these students were not included in the scheme. The government will also promote nutritional gardens in schools.
Central Government will not decide items which will be served under the scheme and states can decide on their own.
States will be allowed to include their local nutritional items as well. Earlier the provision was not there.
The scheme will provide supplementary nutrition in aspirational and tribal districts and districts with high prevalence of anemia.
The scheme will encourage the participation of Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) and Women Self-Help Groups in the implementation of the scheme.