The Mid-day Meal scheme is one of the most successful schemes of the Indian Government. Explain by giving its purpose.
The Mid-day Meal Scheme was started to provide a cooked mid-day meal on every school day with nutritional content of 450 calories, 12 gm protein and other micro-nutrients to all children studying in Class I to VIII in government, local body and government aided schools.
The basic purpose of this scheme was to improve enrollment, retention and attendance of the children in school and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among them.
This encouraged poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities. An additional purpose was to provide nutritional support to children of primary classes in drought affected areas.
It is the largest school feeding programme in the world covering 10.44 crore children in 12.2 lakh elementary schools across the country. The Mid-day Meal scheme is one of the most successful schemes of Government of India.