12 Districts In Chhattisgarh To Include Millets In Mid-Day Meals For School Children

Millets to be part of mid-day meals in schools of 12 districts in Chhattisgarh.

School children in 12 districts of Chhattisgarh will now be provided with millet-based food products as part of the mid-day meal scheme, school children in 12 districts of Chhattisgarh will now be provided with millet-based food products as part of the mid-day meal scheme.

In a tweet on Saturday night, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced that he had sent a letter to the central government suggesting the inclusion of millet in the mid-day meal scheme. The proposal has now been approved, and millet-based food products will be provided to school children in 12 districts of Chhattisgarh under the scheme.

"I thank the central government. Now in 12 districts of the state, school children will get millet-based food products four days a week in place of soya chikki,” he said.

The state Directorate of Public Instructions had sent a proposal to the Centre to distribute millet-based products in place of soya chikki under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Yojana which was approved, the official said.

Now, millet-based food products will be distributed in schools in 12 districts of the state for four days a week, he added.

The official said farmers in Chhattisgarh are being encouraged to cultivate millets such as kudo, kutki and ragi which are being procured at support price.

Moreover, the millet-producing farmers in the state are being provided an input subsidy of Rs 9,000, he added.

The central government announced on January 1 that it has lined up a series of millet-centric promotional activities across the country as part of the International Year of Millets. 

About Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The Mid Day Meal Scheme is a school meal program that operates across India, with the goal of improving the nutritional status of school-age children. The program provides free lunches to students attending government primary and upper primary schools, government-aided Anganwadis, Madarsas, and Maqtabs on working days. In September 2021, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was renamed ‘PM POSHAN’ or Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman.

The revamped version of the Mid Day Meal Scheme, implemented for a duration of five years, starting from 2021-22 and ending in 2025-26. The program has been allocated a budget of Rs 1,30,794.90 crore. The government aims to provide benefits to 11.80 crore school-going children, who attend 11.20 lakh schools located throughout the country.

(With inputs from PTI)

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