The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the roll-out of the 'Pradhan Mantri POSHAN in Schools' scheme that will provide hot cooked meal to students of elementary classes in government and government-aided schools across the country.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The existing mid-day meal scheme will be subsumed into the PM Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme with the addition of several new components in it, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said after the meeting.
"The CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister, has approved the continuation of 'National Scheme for PM POSHAN in Schools' for the five years, from 2021-22 to 2025-26, with a financial outlay of Rs 54061.73 crores from the central government and Rs 31,733.17 crore from the state governments and union territory administrations," the government said in a statement.
The central government will also bear the additional cost of about Rs 45,000 crore on food grains.
"Therefore, the total scheme budget will amount to Rs 1,30,794.90 crore," the statement added.
The PM POSHAN scheme will cover all school children studying in classes 1-8 of government and government-aided schools.
"The scheme will cover about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools across the country," the statement said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India Approves National Mission On Edible Oils-Oilseeds With Rs 10,103 Crore Outlay Government Schools To Enroll Class 9 Repeaters In NIOS For 2024-25 Session UP To Shift Unrecognised Madrasa Students To Schools, Muslim Body Objects Is Safe Car Enough? Volvo Crash That Killed CEO, Family Sparks Big Question Pics: Rahul Gandhi's Family Lunch At Iconic Delhi Restaurant "Nothing Short Of Nightmare": Woman Misses Life Event, Slams Air India Public Sector Hydropower Company Hiring For 118 Posts, Check Details Delhi's Air Quality Turns 'Severe' Despite GRAP-4 Restrictions PM Modi Meets Yoga Practitioner, Other Influencers In Kuwait Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.