Chana chaat, mixed beans for breakfast: Gujarat to serve snacks daily for 41 lakh govt school students

NEW DELHI: The Gujarat chief minister Bhupendrabhai Patel has announced the decision to launch the Mukhyamantri Paushtik Alpahar Yojana (Chief Minister Nutritious Snack Scheme) under Suposhit Gujarat Mission. Chana chaat, mixed beans, and sukhdi (sweet) will be served as a daily breakfast in addition to the mid-day meals.

A total of 41 lakh students from pre-primary to Class 8 will benefit from this scheme, the chief minister made the announcement at an event.

The initiative has been introduced in line with the 'Padhai Bhi, Poshan Bhi’ programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Students of 32,277 government and grant-in-aid primary schools will be given mid-day meals and daily breakfast.

Under this scheme, all 41 lakh students from Balwatika to Class-8 of 32,277 government and grant-in-aid primary schools in the state will be given mid-day meal, sukhdi, chana chaat, mixed pulses at the time of prayer before the start of school work. “Calorie-protein nutritious snack of Shree Anna (Millet) will be provided,” the statement read.

The state government will allocate Rs 617 crore per annum for the scheme along with a 50% increase in the honorarium to the holders for material cost and additional work of preparing nutritious snacks.

Accordingly, a monthly honorarium of Rs 4,500 will be paid to the salaried administrator of PM Poshan Yojana, Rs 3,750 per month to cook-cum-helpers in schools having 26 or more students, and additional staff-helpers for small schools will be paid Rs 1,500 per month. .

“In the call made by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047', the leading state of the country decided to provide nutritious snacks through the 'Mukhyamantri Paushtik Alpahar Yojana' with the name of preparing the future healthy and well-nourished generation to keep the state in the forefront by building a developed Gujarat,” the chief minister said in a social media post.