What is the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in India? Know the Facts for the UPSC Exam

The midday meal is a scheme inaugurated by the government of India to provide the children studying in the government schools with a whole meal. This was started in 1995. The modifications and amendments have been done to it to provide the children with complete food. The UPSC candidates prepare the UPSC notes on the major topics concerning the country. This is important because it is connected to the betterment of the citizens. This scheme is the source of providing food to the needy children so that they can study nicely. If you desire to be an IAS officer in the future, you must see these acts of upliftment of society. Here is an article for you to know about the mid-day meal scheme in India. Keep scrolling it and grabbing the information about this topic.

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What is a Mid-Day Meal Scheme?

The children who are enrolled in the government schools, government-aided schools, local body schools, special training centres (STC), madrasas, and maktabs that are supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) are provided with a one-time complete meal in the daytime. This is done for the better health of the children and to make them come to school for education. The food intake of the students of the primary school is 100 grams of food grains, 20-gram pulses, 5 grams oil and fat, and 50 grams of vegetables. This scheme has been proving tremendously awesome because, after the inaugural, several parents across the nation started to send their children to government schools.

When was the Mid-Day Meal Scheme Started?

This scheme was started on 15th August 1995 for the betterment of children. The scheme was started then under the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE). It was considered the greatest initiative. The parents who were not capable of sending their wards to school started finding it beneficial for their kids to learn and grow. The modifications were made in October 2007. The NP-NSPE was renamed as ‘National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools,’ which is popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

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Aims of the Scheme

The scheme was started with certain objectives to achieve. It has supported the backward people and the ones who were finding it difficult to enrol their children in education schools. The major aims of this scheme are written below. You must be aware of its objectives and aims. Read the points given below and it will be helpful for your UPSC preparation.

#1. To encourage the disadvantaged sections of society to enrol their children in government schools.

#2. To influence and increase the leading number of students studying in the school and to boost their attendance rates.

#3. For the retainment of the children studying in classes 1-8.

#4. The most important objective is to provide the children with a nutritional diet, especially for the ones who belong to the drought areas.

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Have a Look at its Features

This scheme comes under the ministry of HRD. It was started to give the children food for at least 200 days a year. The salient features of mid-day meals include the below-given points.

#1. It leads to the universalization of primary schools by connecting them through the world’s largest meal program.

#2. The implementation of this scheme is authorized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD).

#3. The first state to introduce a mid-day meal scheme was Tamil Nadu.

#4. The scheme is centrally sponsored with 60% centre shares.

#5. The mid-day meal became a cooked meal for 200 days a year in 2001 with 300 calories energy intake and protein intake 8 to 12 grams.

Other Significant Features!

#1. The scheme was profitable for the government-aided schools till 2002 but later children studying in the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centres too were included under the scheme.

#2. In 2004, the amendments were carried out in this scheme. The cooking cost was done under central assistance, management, evaluation, and monitoring methods were changed along with including the subsidy charges with all the states. Moreover, the change was done to provide food to the children coming from drought-affected areas during the summer vacation as well.

#3. In 2006, the cost of cooking and nutritional norms of the scheme was revised.

#4. The children of class 6-8 in 3,479 Educationally Backwards Blocks (EBBs) were included in the scheme in 2007.

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Mid Day Meal Scheme – Facts for UPSC

This is an important topic for the candidates of UPSC to know and grasp. The revisions have been done in 2015 in this scheme. The changes include that the children from 1-8 class or 6 to 14 years are eligible for taking nutritional food, the schools must have AGMARK quality products for making food, the meals should be served within the boundaries of the school if the food fund gets exhausted, the headmaster of the school will feed the children. Furthermore, to ensure the nutritive value and quality of meals, The Food and Drugs Administration Department of the State must collect the food samples. The school management committees are responsible for providing all the necessary things to the students and should take care of the budget and other relevant things. Keep the notes for UPSC preparation and succeed in the UPSC exam.

Mid Day Meal Scheme in India

The mid-day meal was started under the provisions of three different models. The first one is decentralization. The food must be prepared by the local cooks of each area or state. The second suggests the centralization theme. Under it, the food must be transferred by some authority rather than the local cooks. The final model says that the scheme will run on international assistance which means that several international philanthropic organizations will help the government aid schools for providing the meal. This could be said that everything has two sides. This scheme was criticized by many opinions. Although the government gives full financial support to the states for providing the schools with good quality meals to all the students, there have been adverse situations too.

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Conclusion

The mid-day meal scheme is a great initiative for the students. It has not only given support to the parents but also is a source of attraction for the students to take admission in the schools. The UPSC candidates should know every bit of detail about this amazingly important topic. If you have any doubt about the topics of UPSC or the exam itself, you must visit UPSC Pathshala and acquire the knowledge. Most general topics should be known to you with facts. You must be able to answer it in the exam or the interview and even if not asked then also you can relate it with the relevant questions. It will be a support in your knowledge and understanding of the country. If you visit the website, you will get the opportunity to meet people from different fields and also to learn from them. So, upgrade your skills with the right vision.