Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started in India on 15 August 1995 as ‘National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)’. It was renamed as ‘ ‘National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools’ in October 2007, also known as the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.

Under the MDM scheme, one meal is provided to all children enrolled in government schools, local body schools, government-aided schools, special training centres (STC), maktabs and madrasas supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Cooked meals are provided to every child enrolled and attaining school from six to fourteen years. Meals are provided to children studying in Class I to VIII.

Objectives Of Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The objectives of the MDM scheme are:

• To increase the enrolment in the schools of the children who belong to disadvantaged sections of the society.
• To increase the attendance of the children in government and government-aided schools.
• To retain the children studying in class I to VIII.
• To give nutritional support to the children studying in the elementary stage, especially in the drought-affected areas.
• To address hunger and malnutrition and improve socialisation among castes.

Features Of Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The features of the MDM scheme are:

• Every school should have a hygienic cooking infrastructure for hygienically cooked mid-day meals.
• The mid-day meals are to be served only on the school premises on all working days of the school.
• The headmaster or headmistress is entitled to utilise the school funds on account of mid-day meal fund exhaustion. However, the same will be reimbursed to the mid-day meal fund as soon as the school is credited with the same.
• Quality items with AGMARK are procured for cooking the mid-day meals in the schools.
• Two or three adult members taste the cooked meals from the school management committee.
• The Food and Drugs Administration Department of the State can collect samples for ensuring the quality and nutritional value of the meals.
• The State Steering-cum Monitoring Committee (SSMC) will oversee the implementation of this scheme, including establishing a mechanism to maintain the quality and nutritional standards of the meals.
• Food allowance is provided to the children when the cooked meals cannot be provided because of unforeseen circumstances in the following manner: 
  • Quantity of the food grains according to the entitlement of a child, and
  • Cooking cost prevailing in the respective state.

Meals Provided Under The Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The quantity of food items provided under this scheme per child per school day is as follows:

The calories intake prescribed per child per school day is as follows:

A subsidy for the transportation of the food grains is provided to eleven special category states at a Public Distribution System rate prevailing in these states and up to a maximum of Rs.75 per quintal for the states/UTs other than eleven special category states.