Editing Midday Meal Scheme (section)

{{Short description|Lunch program for students in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox project
| hi = <!-- Alternatively, use native_name -->
| logo = Mid-day meal scheme logo.jpg
| image = File:The Children being served the food under the Mid-day Meal Scheme at a primary school, Wokha district in Nagaland.jpg
| caption = Students receiving mid-day meal at a school in [[Wokha district]] of [[Nagaland]] state
| mission_statement = 
| type = Government of India
| country = India
| primeminister = 
| key_people =
| launched = 1995
<!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| disestablished = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| budget = 
| current_status = Active
| website = https://pmposhan.education.gov.in/
}}

The '''Mid Day Meal Scheme''', officially '''PM-POSHAN''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poshan Abhiyaan - Jan Andolan |url=https://poshanabhiyaan.gov.in/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=poshanabhiyaan.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Mid-Day Meal scheme to be now called PM POSHAN, to cover students of pre-primary classes also - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/mid-day-meal-scheme-to-be-now-called-pm-poshan-to-cover-students-of-pre-primary-classes-also/articleshow/86616637.cms|access-date=2021-10-13|website=The Times of India|date=29 September 2021 }}</ref> is a [[school meal]] programme in India designed to better the [[nutrition]]al status of school-age children nationwide.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=Chettiparambil-Rajan|first=Angelique|date=July 2007|title=India: A Desk Review of the Mid-Day Meals Programme|url=http://home.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp207424.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020230641/http://home.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp207424.pdf|archive-date=20 October 2013|access-date=28 July 2013|website=World Food Programme}}</ref> The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in government primary and upper primary schools, government aided ''[[anganwadi]]s'', ''[[Madrasa|madrasas]]'' and ''[[maqtab]]s''.<ref name=":12">{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions on Mid Day Meal Scheme|url=http://mdm.nic.in/Files/Right%20to%20information/Frequently_Asked_Questions_on_MDM.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021004336/http://mdm.nic.in/Files/Right%20to%20information/Frequently_Asked_Questions_on_MDM.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2013|access-date=24 June 2014|website=mdm.nic.in (Mid Day Meal Scheme, Ministry of Education, Government of India)}}</ref> Serving 120 million children in over 1.27 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, the Midday Meal Scheme is the largest of its kind  in the world.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|title=About the Mid Day Meal Scheme|url=http://mdm.nic.in/aboutus.html|access-date=28 July 2013|publisher=mdm.nic.in (Mid Day Meal Scheme, Ministry of Education, Government of India)}}</ref>

In 1920, [[A. Subbarayalu Reddiar]], the first Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency, introduced the mid-day meal scheme in a Corporation school in the Thousand Lights area. The initiative was based on the idea proposed by [[P. Theagaraya Chetty]], who was serving as the President of the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DT Next |date=2018-07-16 |title=Chennai served first mid-day meal ever |url=https://www.dtnext.in/city/2018/07/16/chennai-served-first-midday-meal-ever |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.dtnext.in |language=en}}</ref>

The Midday Meal Scheme has been implemented in the Union Territory of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] under the French Administration since 1930.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mid Day Meal Puducherry|url=https://mdm.py.gov.in/Index.aspx|access-date=2021-10-13|website=mdm.py.gov.in}}</ref> In post-independent India, the Midday Meal Scheme was first launched in [[Tamil Nadu]], pioneered by the former [[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|Chief Minister]] [[K. Kamaraj]] in the early 1960s. By 2002, the scheme was implemented in all of the states under the orders of the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=School Mid-day Meals - Right to Food Campaign|url=http://www.righttofoodcampaign.in/school-meals|access-date=2021-10-13|website=www.righttofoodcampaign.in|archive-date=16 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016171912/http://www.righttofoodcampaign.in/school-meals|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2021, the [[Government of India|Central Government]] announced that an additional 24 lakh students receiving pre-primary education at government and government-aided schools would also be included under the scheme by 2022.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-09-29|title=Centre extends mid-day meal scheme to 24 lakh pre-primary students|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-extends-mid-day-meal-scheme-to-24-lakh-pre-primary-students/article36739905.ece|access-date=2021-10-13|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=May 2025}}

Under article 24, paragraph 2c<ref>{{cite web|date=20 November 1989|title=Convention on the Rights of the Child|url=http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx|access-date=28 July 2013|website=ohchr.org (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. UN Human Rights.)|publisher=United Nations}}</ref> of the [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]], to which India is a party,<ref>{{cite web|title=India and United Nations – Human Rights|url=http://www.un.int/india/india_and_the_un_hr.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502160113/http://www.un.int/india/india_and_the_un_hr.html|archive-date=2 May 2010|access-date=28 July 2013|website=www.un.int (United Nations Permanent Missions)}}</ref> India has committed to yielding "adequate nutritious food" for children. The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the [[National Food Security Act, 2013]]. The legal backing for the Indian school meal programme is akin to the legal backing provided in the US through the [[National School Lunch Act]].