students-suffer-as-t-gana-govt-neglects-mid-day-meal-scheme

The Telangana Congress government appears to be neglecting the mid-day meal scheme, which feeds lakhs of students in the state’s government and local body schools. For nearly a year, the mid-day meals in these schools ran on an outdated cost. This is despite the Central government revising the cooking charges under the PM POSHAN Scheme (Mid-day meals) in November 2024.

 

The Telangana government, however, failed to implement the corresponding hike for almost a year. The expense for the mid-day meals is borne by both the Central and State governments in a 60:40 ratio. The Central government had revised the mid-day meal cooking cost per child for every day on November 27, 2024, raising the cost from ₹5.45 to ₹6.19 for Bala Vatikas and primary schools. Similarly, it enhanced the cost from ₹8.17 per child to ₹9.29 for students in upper primary schools.

 

The revised cost was set for implementation from December 1, 2024. Crucially, the State government has failed to raise its matching grant of ₹2.48 for primary and ₹3.72 for upper primary schools, forcing schools to struggle when it comes to provide nutritious meals.

After repeated requests and follow-ups by the department, the government finally released an order on October 31st, 2025, announcing the matching grant for the scheme. Furthermore, the cooking cost for classes IX and X was also enhanced from ₹10.67 to ₹11.79.

 

In fact, in the last year, the Central government revised the mid-day meal cooking cost per child twice, with the latest revision occurring in May 2025. The cost was enhanced to ₹6.78 for children in Bala Vatikas and primary schools, and ₹10.17 for upper primary school students.

 

Of this total cost, the Centre's contribution stands at ₹4.07 per primary student and ₹6.10 per upper primary student. Because the State did not revise its rates accordingly following the hike, it has potentially lost out on additional Central funds.

According to sources, the Education department formally requested the government to revise the cooking charges once in December 2024 and again in May 2025.

 

"Generally, it takes about a month or two for revision. However, this time it was delayed by the government. The proposal to revise charges as per the hike done in May is yet to be provided," sources added.

 

Also read: Jubilee Hills by-poll a litmus test for Telangana CM