Submit feasibility proposal on extending Centre's school nutrition scheme to Class 10: Maharashtra CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday directed officials to examine extending the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme from Class 8 to Class 10 and submit a feasibility proposal as part of a broader policy aimed at ensuring students receive fresh nutritious and quality meals on timeThe scheme currently covers students from Classes 1 to 8 Fadnavis directed the School Education and Women and Child Development departments to formulate a joint policy for the scheme and issue necessary guidelinesStrengthening PM POSHAN Improving Student Nutrition Chaired a review meeting regarding Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana PM POSHAN at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai Directed that decisionmaking authority be delegated to the district level to ensure students receive fresh nutritious and highquality meals on time under the PM POSHAN scheme Instructed the School Education and Women amp Child Development Departments to examine the feasibility of extending the provisions of nutritional meals from Class 8 to Class 10 and submit a proposal The departments should jointly formulate a policy and issue necessary guidelines to give districtlevel authorities necessary flexibility and decisionmaking powers based on local conditions ensuring that students receive fresh nutritious and quality meals on time Directed that District Collectors and Zilla Parishad CEOs be consulted to identify local challenges and incorporate feasible suggestions into the joint policy before submitting it to the Cabinet Emphasised the inclusion of nutritious options such as milletbased dishes while taking into account local dietary habits and student preferences Minister Dadaji Bhuse Minister Aditi Tatkare MoS Meghnatai Bordikar and senior officials were present dadajibhuse iAditiTatkare MeghnaBordikar Maharashtra Mumbai PMPOSHANmdash Devendra Fadnavis Dev_Fadnavis October 5 2026He also directed that decisionmaking powers be given at the district level based on local conditions allowing authorities to choose the most suitable system for providing meals to studentsThe directions were issued during a review meeting of the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme chaired by Fadnavis at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai on MondayFadnavis said centralised kitchens should be used in urban areas as well as in rural areas where the system is feasible However in remote and tribal areas where food from centralised kitchens may take too long to reach schools alternative arrangements should be made through gram panchayatsBefore adopting the centralised kitchen model officials should assess locally whether fresh and nutritious meals can be delivered to schools on time he said Wherever possible the responsibility for meal distribution should be given to local selfhelp groupsDistrict collectors chief executive officers of zilla parishads and municipal commissioners should take decisions based on local requirements and feasibility Clear criteria should also be set for food quality services and payment mechanisms Fadnavis saidThe School Education and Women and Child Development departments should assess demand at the district level and coordinate the use of their available resources so that the benefits of the scheme reach students more effectivelyFadnavis directed the departments to take a decision on providing the necessary administrative flexibility and powers at the jurisdictional level Before preparing the joint policy officials should consider suggestions from district collectors and chief executive officers of zilla parishads to identify local difficulties and necessary changesA joint proposal incorporating feasible suggestions should subsequently be placed before the state Cabinet he saidFocus on local foodFadnavis directed district collectors to hold meetings of districtlevel nutrition committees and plan the inclusion of locally available proteinrich food items in students meals Zilla parishad chief executive officers should coordinate the processHe also asked officials to consider nutritious options including milletbased preparations keeping local dietary practices and students preferences in mindSchool Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse suggested expanding the reach of centralised kitchens and providing funds to gram panchayats so they can take responsibility for supplying nutritious meals locallyBhuse also urged the state government to request the Centre to reduce the quantity of rice and increase the proportion of other grains in the meals He said health cards were being prepared for school students and that health checkups would henceforth be conducted in the presence of parentsWomen and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said her department was assigning the responsibility of supplying nutritious meals to 30 anganwadis in urban areas to ISKCON The number of anganwadis covered under the arrangement would be increased after assessing its effectiveness she saidTatkare suggested that districtlevel nutrition committees headed by district collectors should be given the authority to decide on the supply of nutritious meals based on local conditions and availability She also suggested that fresh food based on local requirements should be provided instead of premix or fortified productsChief Secretary Rajesh Agrawal suggested that maida should not be used in nutritional mealsScheme covers 85206 schoolsThe Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme is currently being implemented by the School Education Department for students from Class 1 to Class 8 in 85206 eligible schools run by the state and Central governments local selfgovernment bodies private aided and partially aided institutionsAs per Central government norms students from Class 1 to Class 5 are provided meals containing 450 calories and 12 grams of protein while students from Class 6 to Class 8 receive meals containing 700 calories and 20 grams of proteinTo introduce variety into the meals 12 recipes have been finalised including different types of pulao khichdi usal and varanbhat officials saidSchool Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare Minister of State Meghna SakoreBordikar Chief Secretary Rajesh Agrawal School Education Department Principal Secretary Ranjitsinh Deol Women and Child Development Department Secretary Anupkumar School Education Commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh Directorate of Municipal Administration Director Abhishek Krishna Integrated Child Development Programme Commissioner Madhavi Sardeshmukh and ISKCON representatives attended the meetingCommissioners of all municipal corporations district collectors and chief executive officers of zilla parishads participated in the meeting online