Mid –Day Meal Scheme in Karnataka – A Programme for Hunger Free Classroom

Hunger and Malnutrition are the two major Problems in Indian Economy. India Ranks 97 out of 118 countries in Global Hunger Index. To eradicate the problem of Hunger and malnutrition among the school going children Mid-Day Meal Programme was introduced. History of Mid-Day Meal Programme lies in the pre-independence period. In the year 1925 for the first time, the mid-day meal programme was introduced in India. It became a nationwide programme after the Directions of Supreme Court of India. The main objective of the Mid-Day meal programme is to increase the enrolment of students in primary, higher primary and high school levels of education. Along with these objectives, the programme is concentrated to eradicate hunger and malnutrition among the students, especially among the school going children. In Karnataka Mid-Day meal Scheme was started in the year 2002 by the government and in the year 2013 government of Karnataka implemented Ksheera Bhagya Yojana to the students in which 150 ml of hot milk is given to all children thrice in a week. In recent years many of the NGOs Joined hands with the Government in providing a free cooked meal to the school going children. These are the welfare programme which is introduced to fight the hunger and malnutrition of the children and also to improve enrolment and quality of education.