Federal Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has approved a cash assistance scheme for 11.8 crore students through the ‘Nishank’ (MDM) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBD) scheme.1200 crore has been allotted to the State Governments / UTs for this.
*The scheme will benefit 11.20 lakh students in classes 1-8 studying in government and government aided schools across India.
*Each child will receive about 100 rupees once under the welfare scheme.
*This aid is aimed at protecting the nutritional status of children and helping to protect their immune system during COVID-19 Pandemic.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM):
1.The Centrally Sponsored Program is designed to improve the nutritional status of school children across India. The program, called the School Meals Program, was launched in 1995 as a centrally funded program.
*The program is implemented by the Ministry of Education and is closed by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
*Under this scheme, the Center and the State share cooking cost per day for non-Northeastern states and UTs with legislatures other than Jammu and Kashmir in the ratio of 60:40. For others it is divided by a ratio of 90:10.
*According to a recent announcement, the cost of cooking a baby per day is INR 4.97 for the primary and 7.45 INR for the upper primary.
2.India is committed to providing adequate nutrition to children under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.