MIDDAY MEAL SCHEME.

THE MIDDAY MEAL SCHEME: AN INTRODUCTION-

The scheme is a school meal program started by the Government of India (GOI) designed especially to strengthen the nutrition of the school-age children nationwide. The program provides free lunches to the children in primary and upper classes in government, government-aided, local body, education guarantee scheme, and alternate education center during the working days.

ABOUT THE SCHEME:

Under Article 24, paragraph 2c of the Convention on the Right of the Child, to which India is a party. The nation is committed to yielding adequate nutritious food for children. The program was launched in 1995 and has witnessed many changes since then. The midday meal scheme is covered by National Food SecurityAct 2013. The legal backing to the Indian school meal program is kin to the legal backing provided in the US through the National School Lunch Act.

HISTORY:

The roots of the program can be traced back to the pre-independence era when a midday meal program was introduced in 1925 in Madras cooperation by the British administration and a midday meal program was introduced in the union territory of Pondicherry by the French administration in the year 1930.

During 1982 the chief minister of Tamil Nadu upgraded the scheme in the state to nutritious food scheme keeping in mind that 68 lakh people suffer malnutrition.