Bhubaneswar: A total of 41,74,915 students from classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools across the state are currently benefiting from the PM Poshan (midday meal) scheme, School and Mass Education (S&ME) Minister Nityananda Gond informed the Odisha Assembly on Friday.
In a written reply to a query BJD MLA from Baliguda Chakramani Kanhar, the S&ME Minister stated that the cost of food per student is determined by the Central government.
The state government contributes its share of the fixed cost and provides additional food expenses from its own budget, the Minister.
Minister Gond said that currently, the cost of food provided to schools per student is Rs. 7.64 for primary (classes 1 to 5) and Rs. 10.94 for upper primary (classes 6 to 8).
If the midday meal scheme is extended to students in classes 9 and 10, an additional 10, 80,000 children would benefit, he said. This expansion would result in an annual expenditure of Rs. 646.31 crore for the state government, he added.
