New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the PM POSHAN Abhiyan Yojana for schools, which will be operational for five years and is estimated to cost more than Rs. 1.30 lakh crores.
Briefing the media, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the scheme will run from the academic year 2021-22 to 2025-26, inclusive of the current Mid-day Meal Scheme.
The POSHAN scheme will run as a Centre-State partnership, with the Centre being the major contributor.
The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs. 54061.73 crores to be provided by the Centre, and Rs. 31733.17 crores from State governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrators.
The Centre will also bear additional Rs.45,000 crores on food grains, totalling the POSHAN budget to a whopping Rs. 1,30,794.90 crores.
The Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN), or the National Nutrition Mission, is a flagship programme of the Government of India to improve the nutritional health of children. It will cater to nutrition and health in school-going students. It includes the existing Mid-Day Meal scheme.
(Avya Mathur)