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Increased Material Cost: The Government of India has approved a 9.5% hike in material cost under the PM-POSHAN scheme, effective from May 1, 2025. This translates to an additional central expenditure of ₹954 crore for the financial year 2025–26.
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Revised Costs: The revised material cost per student per day is ₹6.78 for Balvatika/Primary (from ₹6.19) and ₹10.17 for Upper Primary (from ₹9.29). States/UTs can contribute more for enhanced nutrition.
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Nutritional Norms: Balvatika/Primary students need 20g pulses, 50g vegetables, 5g oil. Upper Primary students need 30g pulses, 75g vegetables, 7.5g oil.
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CPI-RL Data: Inflation data for the PM-POSHAN meal basket is supplied by the Labour Bureau using the Consumer Price Index – Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) from 600 villages across 20 states.
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Scheme Overview: PM-POSHAN (formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme) provides one hot cooked meal per school day to 11.20 crore children in Balvatikas and Classes 1-8 in 10.36 lakh government/aided schools.
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Objectives: The scheme aims to enhance nutritional status, improve enrollment, retention, and attendance, especially among disadvantaged children.
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Central Contribution: The Centre also provides 26 lakh MT of food grains. The Centre bears 100% cost of food grains (including ₹9,000 crore subsidy) and transportation.
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Per Meal Cost: Including all components, the per meal cost is approximately ₹12.13 for Balvatika/Primary and ₹17.62 for Upper Primary.
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Centrally Sponsored Scheme: PM-POSHAN is a Centrally sponsored scheme to provide nutritional support and enhance school participation of students.
