Question

What is the Mid-day Meal Scheme? Explain by giving its purpose.

Answer 1

1:The Mid-day Meal Scheme was started to provide a cooked mid-day meal on every school day with the nutritional content of 450 calories, 12 gm protein and other micro-nutrients to all children studying in Class I to VIII in government, local body, and government-aided schools.
2:The basic purpose of this scheme was to improve enrollment, retention and attendance of the children in school and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among them.
3:This encouraged poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.
4:An additional purpose was to provide nutritional support to children of primary classes in drought-affected areas.
5:It is the largest school feeding program in the world covering 10.44 crore children in 12.2 lakh elementary schools across the country. The Mid-day Meal scheme is one of the most successful schemes of the Government of India.