PM POSHAN: Centre to bear additional cost of ₹425.62 cr. due to food inflation

Context: The Centre has announced that it will bear the
additional cost of ₹425.62 crore on account of inflation in food material cost
under the Centrally sponsored PM POSHAN Scheme in the financial year 2024-25. Based
on the inflation index provided by the Labour Bureau, the Education Ministry
has enhanced the material cost of pulses, vegetables and oil by 13.7%. The
material cost could not be revised during 2023-24; therefore, the inflation
value of items under PM POSHAN basket for both 2022-23 (6.45%) and 2023-24
(6.74%) has been considered for enhancement of cost.

PM Poshan Scheme

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About: In September 2021, the Union Cabinet approved the
Government Scheme called Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, or PM-POSHAN,
aiming to provide one hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided
schools. With a financial outlay of Rs 1.31 trillion, this scheme replaced the
national Mid-day Meal Scheme. It’s launched for an initial five-year period,
from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

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Objectives: The primary objective of the PM Poshan Scheme is to
reduce the prevalence of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia, and low birth
weight in children, as well as to address the nutritional needs of pregnant and
lactating mothers. Malnutrition, which includes both undernutrition and
overnutrition, is a significant public health concern in India, affecting
millions of children and women across the country.

ICDS and Anganwadi Services Strengthening - The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
program, along with Anganwadi centres, plays a central role in delivering
essential nutrition and health services to children and mothers at the
grassroots level. The scheme focuses on enhancing the quality and coverage of
these services, including supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring,
immunization, and health check-ups.

Community Mobilization and Awareness - Poshan Abhiyan emphasizes community engagement and
mobilization to create awareness about the importance of nutrition, health, and
hygiene practices. This includes behaviour change communication activities,
outreach programs, and the involvement of frontline workers such as Anganwadi
workers, ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), and AWWs (Anganwadi
Workers).

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Features: Coverage - The PM-POSHAN scheme provides 100
grams of food grains per day to primary (1-5) and 150 grams to upper primary
(6-8) schoolchildren, ensuring a minimum of 700 calories. It also extends to
balvatikas (ages 3-5) in pre-primary classes.

Nutritional Gardens - Encouraging locally grown nutritional foods through “school nutrition
gardens” involving Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Women Self Help
Groups for economic growth.

Supplementary Nutrition - Provisions for supplementary nutrition in aspirational districts and
areas with high anaemia prevalence, allowing states to include additional items
like milk or eggs without bearing extra cost.

Tithi Bhojan Concept - Community participation program, TithiBhojan, encourages special food
provision to children on occasions/festivals.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) - States and UTs are directed to switch to DBT for
compensating cooks and helpers, aiming to prevent leakages.

Nutrition Expert - Each school to appoint a nutrition expert ensuring health aspects like
BMI, weight, and haemoglobin levels are monitored.

Social Audit - Mandatory social audit for each school in each state to assess scheme
implementation, ensuring accountability.