Do not discontinue mid-day meals: HRD Ministry to States

With schools being closed in different parts of the country as part of precautionary measures in the wake of novel coronavirus spread, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has asked the State governments to either provide hot-cooked mid-day meal or food security allowance to students till such time their schools remain closed.

“The modalities for this purpose may be decided by the respective States and the Union Territories (UTs), suitable to the prevailing circumstances,” the ministry said in a letter to all the States and UTs on Friday, noting that country was passing through “the difficult times” in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The regular mid-day meal shall resume as soon as the schools re-open, the ministry added.

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The mid-day meal rules 2015 envisages that if mid-day meal is not provided in a school on any school day due to the non-availability of food grains, cooking cost, fuel, absence of cook cum helper or any other reason, the State government shall pay the food security allowance by the 15th of the succeeding month.

The food security allowance to each of the beneficiaries will include the quantity of the food grains as per the entitlement of the child and the cooking cost prevailing in the State.