Give kids food that makes them happy, don't just crunch numbers: Experts on India's new Mid Day Meal Scheme

The Hindi word Poshan literally translates to nutrition. So the reason behind the centre renaming an existing Mid Day Meal Scheme as the PM Poshan Shakti Nirman is a no-brainer. There are a few minuscule changes though. Now, around 24 lakh students receiving pre-primary education at government and government-aided schools will also be brought under the ambit of the scheme from next year.

However, is Poshan really providing enough poshan to students? We decided to sift through the nutrients. The Poshan scheme says that it aims to provide 450 calories of food per day per meal to primary students (up to Class V) and 700 calories per meal per day to upper primary students (Classes V to VIII). While for laymen like you and I, this seems like Greek, experts say that this is quite sufficient for children of that age. In fact, this is the math that the centre has been following since the beginning of the scheme (mid-day meal).

While this seems good on paper, the real problem comes in the way in which these calories are distributed. Dr Veena Shatrugna, the former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, breaks it down for us. "You can attain 450 calories by drinking 50 milliliters of oil or eating half a kilo of potatoes. You also get it by having 125 grams of plain rice cooked in water. This way, 450 calories per meal is not too little for a child. But, the problem is that our bureaucrats do not understand food, but love numbers," she says.

Her problem lies in the composition, "Instead, the concentration should be on of food that is culturally relevant and to provide tasty, regular food to children that make them happy. Instead of serving them heaps of food or bland onion and garlic-free food, give them eggs, an occasional sweet or a peanut bar," she says, stressing that the focus must be on distributing these calories in an interesting way, ensuring that a child eats them and stays healthy.

Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor, also agrees with Shatrugna. The mid day meal scheme with a new name, she says, must concentrate on providing food that gives energy to children. "The government is supposed to give 12-15 grams of protein to children. They also have to have fats that give them more energy," she says. "These must be locally sourced and cooked and culturally relevant," she says. Both Karpagam and Shatrugna lauded states like Tamil Nadu, that provide eggs to students.

Karpagam says that instead of homogenising the scheme and bringing all states and union territories under an umbrella, the centre could have instead worked on localising the menu. "Over years, the quality and quantity of food have come down. This has happened especially after bringing private players in," she says, adding that merely changing the name of the program will not do any good. "The need is to look at the serious crisis in terms of nutrition," she says.