Bhubaneswar, March 27: The Odisha government has announced that it will begin providing cooked midday meals to students of classes 9 and 10 in state-run schools starting April 1, as per an official statement on Thursday.
This initiative aims to improve students' nutrition levels and promote better enrolment, attendance, and retention rates at the secondary education level. According to SK Mohapatra, the Additional Secretary of the School and Mass Education Department, the move is designed to support students' overall well-being and academic performance.
To implement this decision, the state government will allocate an additional Rs 570.71 crore annually, as outlined in a letter from Mohapatra to Girish Chandra Singh, the state nodal officer of the PM Poshan scheme.
