Odisha Govt To Hike MDM Cost By Rs 1 Per Child Amid Spiraling Prices: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to increase the cost of mid-day meal (MDM) for school students in view of considerable rise in the prices of essential commodities.

Sharing this information, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond said on Wednesday that the cost per mid-day meal will be increased by Rs 1 following price rise.

This will go a long way in enabling the schools to ensure nutrition in the meals for students, he said, adding that schools are finding it increasingly difficult to provide the meals as per the norms mandated by government due to spiralling prices of essential commodities.

According to official sources, the MDM expenditure at present is Rs 5.90 for a primary student and Rs 8.82 for an upper primary student.

The last revision of the meal cost was carried out in October 2022. The Minister said it has now been decided to increase the cost per meal by Rs 1.

According to the PM-POSHAN database for Odisha, cooked meals are presently being provided to over 45 lakh students in 50,485 primary and upper primary schools in the state. Students are served rice with ‘dalma’ on Mondays and Thursdays, soya bean curry on Tuesdays and Fridays and egg curry on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The scheme says a primary student (Class I to VIII) has to be served 25 gm of dal and it is 30 gm in case of upper primary student (Class VI to VIII). When it comes to soya beans, it is 12 gm for a primary student and 25 gm for upper primary student. One egg is served to a student.

To manage expenses, teachers are often being forced to buy inferior quality commodities. Teachers had also urged the state government to hike the MDM cost substantially.