Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman - DNH&DD

Description
The PM POSHAN Scheme, launched nationwide in 2021 by the Ministry of Education MoE , Government of India, is implemented in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu through the Department of Education. The scheme continues the earlier Mid-Day Meal Programme, aiming to provide hot, cooked, nutritious meals to children enrolled in government and government-aided schools. It seeks to enhance child nutrition, promote regular school attendance, and support overall academic performance. Under the scheme, eligible children from Balvatika, Primary I–V , and Upper Primary VI–VIII receive freshly prepared meals on all school working days. The meals are designed to meet prescribed nutritional norms, ensuring adequate calorie intake and essential nutrients for healthy growth. PM POSHAN also includes provisions for food safety, quality monitoring, kitchen devices, infrastructure strengthening, and community participation to ensure effective implementation. The scheme particularly benefits children from economically and socially disadvantaged families, helping reduce classroom hunger and improve retention. In DNH&DD, the Directorate of Education oversees planning, fund allocation, meal preparation standards, and monitoring through school-level committees SMCs . Through its holistic approach, PM POSHAN aims to boost children’s health, reduce malnutrition, and create an enabling environment for better learning outcomes.

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Benefits
• 1) Hot, cooked, nutritious meals provided to students on all school working days.
• 2) Ensures adequate calorie and protein intake as per national nutritional norms.
• 3) Improves health and nutrition levels of school-going children.
• 4) Enhances school attendance, retention, and reduces classroom hunger.
• 5) Supports better concentration and learning outcomes among students.
• 6) Provides essential micronutrients to address anaemia and malnutrition.
• 7) Encourages enrollment in Government and Government Aided schools.
• 8) Strengthens social equity by serving all children without discrimination.
• 9) Includes food safety and hygiene measures for quality assurance.
• 10) Provides support for kitchen devices and infrastructure improvement.

Eligibility Criteria
1. 1) The applicant must be a school-going child enrolled in a Government (Balvatika–VIII), Government-aided (VI–VIII) or Local Body (Balvatika–VIII) school.
2. 2) The child should be studying in Balvatika, Primary classes I–V, or Upper Primary classes VI–VIII.
3. 3) No income criteria are applicable; all enrolled children are eligible.
4. 4) Children studying in Special Training Centres (STCs) under the RTE Act and CwSN enrolled under Home based Education are also eligible.
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Application Process
Step 1: Step 01: Child enrols in a government or Government-aided school in DNH&DD.
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Step 01: Child enrols in a government or Government-aided school in DNH&DD.

Step 2: Step 02: School updates enrolment details in the PM POSHAN MIS portal.
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Step 02: School updates enrolment details in the PM POSHAN MIS portal.

Step 3: Step 03: In Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman district, meals are prepared at Centralized Kitchen and delivered to schools.
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In Diu district, meals are prepared at Decentralized Kitchen.

Step 4: Step 04: Children attend school and receive hot cooked, nutritious meals on all working days.
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Step 04: Children attend school and receive hot cooked, nutritious meals on all working days.

Step 5: Step 05: School authorities monitor and report meal coverage, quality, and attendance through the MIS portal.
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Step 05: School authorities monitor and report meal coverage, quality, and attendance through the MIS portal.

Required Documents
• 1) No document required.
• 2) Enrollment of the child in a Government (Balvatika to Class VIII) or Government-aided school (Class VI to VIII) is verified through school records.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the PM POSHAN Scheme?
A: PM POSHAN is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Education that provides hot cooked meals to children in Government and Government-aided schools to improve nutritional status, reduce classroom hunger, and encourage regular attendance.
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Q: What type of meals are provided under the scheme?
A: One hot cooked meal is provided on every school working day. The meal includes food grains, pulses, vegetables, oil/fat, and condiments, meeting prescribed calorie and protein norms.
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Q: What are the nutritional norms under PM POSHAN?
A: Balvatika/Primary (Classes I–V) as per PM POSHAN norms:
• Calories: 450
• Protein: 12 grams
Upper Primary (Classes VI–VIII) as per PM POSHAN norms:
• Calories: 700
• Protein: 20 grams
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Q: What are the food quantity norms per child per day?
A: Primary:
1. Food grains: 100 g
2. Pulses: 20 g
3. Vegetables: 50 g
4. Oil &amp; fat: 5 g
5. Salt &amp; condiments: As per need
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Upper Primary:
1. Food grains: 150 g
2. Pulses: 30 g
3. Vegetables: 75 g
4. Oil &amp; fat: 7.5 g
5. Salt &amp; condiments: As per need
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Q: What is the main objective of the PM POSHAN Scheme?
A: The scheme aims to improve the nutritional status of school children while encouraging regular school attendance. It supports better learning outcomes and enhances concentration by providing hot, nutritious meals daily. Additionally, the scheme works to reduce malnutrition and anemia among students and promotes social equity by ensuring that all children share a common meal irrespective of background.
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Q: Who prepares the meals in DNH&DD?
A: -In Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli and Daman - Meals are prepared in centralized kitchen &amp; delivered to schools.
-In Diu - Meals are prepared in the decentralized kitchen.
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Q: What additional support does PM POSHAN include?
A: The scheme provides kitchen devices and utensils, strengthens infrastructure, and ensures food safety and hygiene. Meals are monitored by School Management Committees (SMCs), Headmasters, and District Teams, with MIS-based reporting and mandatory tasting before serving. Additionally, Tithi Bhojan is served on festive occasions, school nutrition gardens are established, student health check-ups are conducted under RBSK Scheme by Health Department, and cook cum helpers are trained and supervised.
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Q: How many children and schools are covered under PM POSHAN in DNH&DD?
A: In Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli and Daman &amp; Diu, the scheme covers all students across all government &amp; government aided schools, ensuring access to nutritious Mid-Day Meals and supporting better health and learning outcomes.
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Q: Who is eligible for the PM POSHAN Scheme?
A: In DNH&amp;DD, children enrolled in Government schools (Balvatika to Class VIII), Government-aided schools (Class VI to VIII) and Local Body schools are eligible.
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Q: Is there any eligibility criteria?
A: No. All students are covered, irrespective of background.
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Q: Are students in private or unaided schools eligible?
A: No. Only children enrolled in Government, Government-aided and local body schools are covered.
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Q: Are children attending Special Training Centres (STCs) or children with special needs under Home-Based Education eligible?
A: Yes. These children are also eligible for the scheme.
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Q: Do children need to be present at school to receive meals?
A: Yes. Only children attending school on the day the meal is served are eligible for that day’s meal.
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Q: Is there an application process for PM POSHAN?
A: No.
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Q: How is a child enrolled in the scheme?
A: Enrollment in a Government school (Balvatika to VIII) or Government-aided school (VI to VIII) and local body automatically makes the child eligible for meals.
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