Union Ministry of education has lauded the efforts of Uttarakhand government's for distributing Rs 38 crore midday meal allowance to 6.5 lakh students of the sate under the Midday Meal Scheme during the lockdown which helped in curbing the dropout rates in schools.

Uttarakhand's Education Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram has been included in the influential bureaucrats of the country in a survey. "Education Minister's midday meal scheme is a great factor to help in curbing the dropout rates in schools. Happy to share that Uttrakhand paid Rs 38 crore to students during lockdown under this scheme. Excellent work is done by the officials!" said Ministry of Education.

Under the mid-day meal scheme, the students are to be served pulses, rice, chapatis, vegetables along with fruit and milk on certain days, to ensure necessary nutrition.