009– Apr 11, 2025
🍲 PM-POSHAN: When Meals Become Missions
Poshan: A Spoon of Dignity, A Bowl of Equality
“Every meal served is a sentence written toward a better story.”
Theme & Tags:
🥘 School Nutrition, Educational Access, Rural Welfare, Food Security
📘 Category: Government Schemes & Social Welfare | GS Paper 2 & 3
🍚 Opening Whisper
Before a child learns letters, they must first learn they are not forgotten.
🏫 Key Highlights
- What Is PM-POSHAN?
- Renamed in Sept 2021 from Mid-Day Meal Scheme
- Centrally sponsored scheme for hot cooked meals
- Beneficiaries: Balvatika to Class VIII in Govt & Govt-aided schools
- Runs on all school days
🎯 Core Objectives
- Improve nutritional status of children
- Boost school attendance and retention, esp. among disadvantaged groups
- Provide food support during summer breaks in drought/disaster-hit areas
- Strengthen foundational learning through nutritional support
💰 Financial Details (2025–26)
- Material cost increased by 9.5%
- Total extra outlay: ₹954 crore
- Revised Per Student Cost (Per Day):
- Balvatika & Primary: ₹6.78 (↑ from ₹6.19)
- Upper Primary: ₹10.17 (↑ from ₹9.29)
- Total Cost (incl. food grain):
- Balvatika/Primary: ₹12.13
- Upper Primary: ₹17.62
- Centre bears 100% food grain cost, incl. transport & subsidy
🥦 Nutritional Norms per Day
| Student Level | Pulses | Vegetables | Oil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balvatika/Primary | 20g | 50g | 5g |
| Upper Primary | 30g | 75g | 7.5g |
📈 Monitoring & Data
- Monitored by: Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour
- Uses CPI-RL (Rural Labourer Consumer Price Index)
- Data from 600 villages in 20 states to adjust inflation-based costing
🌍 Scale & Impact
- Covers 11.20 crore students
- Reaches 10.36 lakh schools
- Food grains: 26 lakh Metric Tonnes via FCI
- Aims to bridge hunger and literacy
📚 GS Mains Mapping
- GS Paper 2
- Government Schemes for Education & Nutrition
- Welfare of Vulnerable Sections
- Centre-State Resource Sharing
- GS Paper 3
- Food Security & Agricultural Policy
- Role of FCI & Rural Price Indices
- Public Distribution System & Subsidy Framework
🪶 A Thought Spark — by IAS Monk
In a plate of rice lies a policy. In a child’s smile, the reflection of a state that remembers.
🍽️ Closing Whisper
Let no child walk to school with an empty stomach and return with an empty future.
