Mid Day Meal Scheme Essay

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Mid-day Meal Scheme (MDMS) – The India Story:
The Mid-day Meal Scheme (MDMS) is a flagship programme of the Government of India, initiated in 1995 (in 2408 select blocks) with the objective of enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance at the primary school level, and also to simultaneously improve nutritional levels among children studying in government and government-aided schools. It is expected to improve their learning ability. Since 1997-’98 it has been universalized, and from 2008-’09 onwards even the upper primary school level has been brought under this programme. Initially, only dry rations were being distributed under the programme, but from 2002 provision for cooked mid-day meal in schools have been made under the direction of …show more content…

There is no explicit provision for the right to food in the Constitution of India. However, the issue of right to food gained wider attention when the Supreme Court of India intervened through a writ petition filed by the PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) against the Union of India, Food Corporation of India, and six state governments under Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the year 2000. Responding to the Writ Petition the Supreme Court interpreted the Article- 21 in wider sense and delivered its historic judgment in 2001. In this judgment, the Supreme Court directed all state governments in India to provide cooked meal instead of dry ration to all primary school going children. The apex court asked the government to incorporate the right to food as an essential element in the policy making process. Expressing seriousness over the starvation deaths in Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and growing food insecurity and the state’s inaction, the Supreme Court directed to take immediate actions for the free distribution of food grains to the needy instead of storing and wasting it in the state government-owned warehouses and the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The Supreme Court also held the view that priority has to be given to those who are neither able to go for employment nor have the capacity to demand from the State. In this …show more content…

The Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), the country’s national programme launched in 1995, aims to ensure that all children receive primary education and to boost the nutrition of students in primary-school classes. A pivotal Supreme Court ruling in 2001 – the result of a civil action – declared that school feeding was a right of all primary-school children and mandated the provision of cooked mid-day meals in primary schools. As a consequence, coverage increased nationwide (by more than 10 percent from 2001-2011) although wide regional disparities remain, mainly because of financial constraints at the state level. Nutritional guidelines and food basket quality have improved over time as

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