Bhubaneswar: Odisha government today increased the Mid-Day-Meal value under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana (PM Poshan) for school children in Odisha by Rs 1. This was announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi while he was attending the state-level Children’s Day celebration, Suravi, at the Capital High School campus in Unit-3 in Bhubaneswar. The Children’s Day was also celebrated there today.
According to Majhi, the Mid-Day-Meal value was hiked with the aim to enhance nutrition and boost school attendance. With the hike of Rs 1, the daily cost of meals for primary students will now rise to Rs 6.90 and for the upper primary students it will be Rs 9.82.
The decision of the State government will benefit around 43 lakh students studying at government and government-aided schools across the state.
Apart from hiking the Mid-Day-Meal value, the Chief Minister introduced other major initiatives for education in the state including the Godabarish Mishra Adarsh Prathamika Vidyalaya, Heritage Schools Scheme and Free Hostel Facilities for Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya Students.
More than 2,000 students and teachers from all the districts of the State took part in the Children’s Day celebration during which the differently-abled students were given prizes for excelling in different competitions.
Schools and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj and Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the School and Mass Education Department, Shalini Pandit, State Project Director of the Odisha School Education Programme Authority Ananya Das along with others attending the event.