The 2020-21 report of Global Hunger Index (GHI) has placed India at 101 among 116 countries with a hunger score of 27.5 which is specified as serious. There were animated discussions in the press and the electronic media on the sufferings of our hungry children who are supposed to be our future. But such animated discussions have quietened down amidst more digestible and sensational news. It is a tragedy of epic proportions that we care so little about the state of health of our children outside our immediate family circles while shouting from the rooftops about India’s demographic dividend. (Read More)
In the last revision effective from 1 April 2020, the per head cost of MDM was raised from Rs. 4.48 to 4.97 for Primary (average age from 5-9 or first to fifth standards) and from Rs. 6.71 to Rs 7.45 for Upper Primary (10-12 years or sixth to eighth standards). But even in the case of MDM it covers only the school going children from the first standard (Class I or age of 5/6 years) but not before. There have been consistent demands for formal inclusion of the Pre-Primary school system from 3 to 5/6 years and their coverage under the MDM Scheme but the Central and most State Governments are averse to the idea. (Read More)
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