Economic Development and Poverty Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economic Development and Poverty - Term Paper Example However, this does not fulfill the requirement of a national food banking programme. Initiating from Tamil Nadu in the year 1960s, the programme now has taken a huge form and is operating in all primary and government aided schools. In the sections to follow, pros and cons of the policy are discussed with a justifying case and future recommendations. Background to the Mid Day Meal Scheme The background to the Mid Day Meal programme in India was set when Tamil Nadu’s Former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj asked a small boy the question, â€Å"Why are you herding the cows? Why don’t you go to schools?† and he replied, â€Å"If I go to school, will you give me food to eat? I can learn only if I eat.† (Akshaya Patra n.d) This innocent answer by the child set the stage for the introduction of Mid Day Meal with its first operations in Tamil Nadu. The programme was covered under the aegis of National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) and i mplemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme across the nation on August 15th, 1995. Elated with the positive response for the scheme in terms of school enrollments, retention and reducing hunger, the Supreme Court of India passed the following mandate in November 28, 2001, â€Å"We Direct the State Governments/ Union Territories to implement the Mid Day Meal scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary School with a prepared mid day meal.† (Akshaya Patra n.d) The provisions of the scheme were revised in the year 2004 covering children of class I-V and comprised of following provisions (India Government 2010): Cooking cost @ Re 1 per child per school day, Transport subsidy raised from Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 per quintal, Management costs @ 2% of the cost of grains, subsidy and assistance and Supplying mid day meal to drought affected areas during summer vacations. Again in the year 2006 revisions were made related to the calories counts and per child cost was increased to Rs. 1.80. Revisions regarding other nutritional contents are shown below in the table. Nutritional Content Norm as per NP-NSPE 2004 Norm as per NP-NSPE 2006 Calorie 300 450 Protein 8-12 12 Micronutrient Not prescribed Folic acid, Iron, Vitamin C, etc. Source: (India Government 2010) Objectives of Mid Day Meal Scheme The Mid Day Meal scheme in India serves three major purposes (India Government 2010) of: 1. Improvising upon the nutrition of children studying in class I-V in Government, state, local bodies and other government aided schools. 2. Bringing children of disadvantaged sections to schools by encouraging them to attend school regularly and allowing them focus on classroom activities through hunger elimination. 3. Providing support in the form of nutrition to undernourished children of primary level in drought affected areas during the summer vacations. Monitoring and control The supervision of the Mid Day Meal Scheme is jointly undertaken by the De partment of School Education and Literacy and Ministry of Human Resources Development. The overall control mechanism comprises (India Government 2010): Local level supervision The monitoring of cleanliness, timely procurement and distribution, wholesomeness and equity is done by members of local Panchayats and Gram Sabha representatives on a periodic basis. Transparency of information The Right to Information Act requires schools and centers to display