<p>States and Union Territories, including Rajasthan, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Delhi, have made a welcome proposal to the Central government towards adding breakfast to the midday meal scheme, which provides free food to children in anganwadis and lower classes in government schools. </p><p>There has also been a proposal from states, including Karnataka, to extend the midday meal programme, called the PM Poshan scheme since 2021, to class 12. The recommendation to include breakfast in the scheme is not new. The National Education Policy (NEP) proposed it, noting that a nutritious breakfast would be particularly productive for children. </p><p>In 2021-22, the Ministry of Education proposed inclusion of breakfast in the PM Poshan scheme, but the Finance Ministry turned it down. The parliamentary standing committee on education has also made a reference to this in a report and said the matter was being pursued.</p>.<p>In terms of health and nutrition as a policy imperative, the midday meal scheme has been one of India’s landmark initiatives with a lasting positive impact on millions of children and society. Providing breakfast will expand the scope of the scheme and cover the daily nutritional needs of a vast population of children. The value this proposal brings to millions of poor families in India, which ranks 102nd out of 123 countries in the 2025 World Hunger Index, cannot be overstated. The levels of undernourishment, child stunting, and child wasting are very high in the country. The provision of breakfast to children must be envisioned as a targeted welfare scheme; its outcomes will be more valuable than many sops provided by governments.</p>.<p>The Ministry of Education has reportedly estimated that the breakfast proposal would cost about Rs 4,000 crore. This is a negligible budgetary allocation in a country with an annual expenditure of over Rs 50 lakh crore. For this investment, the returns promise to be transformative for future generations and for the country. </p><p>With the human and physical infrastructure already in place, the proposal is not likely to involve substantial expansion. </p><p>The governments in Tamil Nadu and Telangana have launched breakfast plans for children. Local bodies, parent-teacher associations and NGOs are running the scheme in Kerala. Karnataka is providing milk, and Andhra Pradesh is providing a ragi malt drink to children, as part of the PM Poshan menu. Considering its takeaways, the breakfast programme needs a national presence and presents a strong case for inclusion in the PM Poshan scheme.</p>
<p>States and Union Territories, including Rajasthan, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Delhi, have made a welcome proposal to the Central government towards adding breakfast to the midday meal scheme, which provides free food to children in anganwadis and lower classes in government schools. </p><p>There has also been a proposal from states, including Karnataka, to extend the midday meal programme, called the PM Poshan scheme since 2021, to class 12. The recommendation to include breakfast in the scheme is not new. The National Education Policy (NEP) proposed it, noting that a nutritious breakfast would be particularly productive for children. </p><p>In 2021-22, the Ministry of Education proposed inclusion of breakfast in the PM Poshan scheme, but the Finance Ministry turned it down. The parliamentary standing committee on education has also made a reference to this in a report and said the matter was being pursued.</p>.<p>In terms of health and nutrition as a policy imperative, the midday meal scheme has been one of India’s landmark initiatives with a lasting positive impact on millions of children and society. Providing breakfast will expand the scope of the scheme and cover the daily nutritional needs of a vast population of children. The value this proposal brings to millions of poor families in India, which ranks 102nd out of 123 countries in the 2025 World Hunger Index, cannot be overstated. The levels of undernourishment, child stunting, and child wasting are very high in the country. The provision of breakfast to children must be envisioned as a targeted welfare scheme; its outcomes will be more valuable than many sops provided by governments.</p>.<p>The Ministry of Education has reportedly estimated that the breakfast proposal would cost about Rs 4,000 crore. This is a negligible budgetary allocation in a country with an annual expenditure of over Rs 50 lakh crore. For this investment, the returns promise to be transformative for future generations and for the country. </p><p>With the human and physical infrastructure already in place, the proposal is not likely to involve substantial expansion. </p><p>The governments in Tamil Nadu and Telangana have launched breakfast plans for children. Local bodies, parent-teacher associations and NGOs are running the scheme in Kerala. Karnataka is providing milk, and Andhra Pradesh is providing a ragi malt drink to children, as part of the PM Poshan menu. Considering its takeaways, the breakfast programme needs a national presence and presents a strong case for inclusion in the PM Poshan scheme.</p>
