MUMBAI: The Centre has approved a budget of ₹1,935.39 crore for implementing the PM POSHAN (midday meal) scheme in Maharashtra for the financial year 2026-27, in addition, ₹95.95 crore is earmarked for eggs, bananas and seasonal fruits, while simultaneously raising concerns over a steady decline in student enrolment, weak health interventions and inadequate training of cook-cum-helpers across the state.
Event Context
The issues came up during the recent Programme Approval Board (PAB) meeting, chaired by Sanjay Kumar, secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, where Maharashtra’s annual work plan and budget under the flagship nutrition scheme were approved.
The Centre approved ₹1,217.02 crore as its share, while the state will contribute ₹718.37 crore. The funds are meant to provide hot cooked midday meals to around 8.524 million students over 234 school working days. Of the total allocation, ₹1,620.19 crore has been set aside towards the basic cost of preparing meals, while the flexi component includes ₹95.95 crore for eggs, bananas and other seasonal fruits.
Egg allocation marks policy turnaround
The Centre’s approval of ₹95.95 crore for eggs, bananas and seasonal fruits comes after Maharashtra’s policy on including eggs in school meals underwent several changes over the past three years.
In November 2023, under then school education minister Deepak Kesarkar, Maharashtra introduced one egg a week or a banana under the PM POSHAN scheme to improve protein intake among schoolchildren.
The revised menu also included egg pulao, egg biryani and other nutritious dishes, making Maharashtra one of the states to incorporate protein-rich foods into midday meals.
However, the policy soon ran into resistance from some groups. In January 2025, the state withdrew funding for eggs and sugar, asking School Management Committees to arrange donations if they wished to continue serving eggs.
Player Focus
For millions of children, particularly those from economically weaker families, the school meal is often the most nutritious meal of the day. Nutrition experts have long maintained that protein-rich foods such as eggs, along with fruits, play a crucial role in supporting children’s physical growth, brain development, immunity and classroom learning.
Even as it approved the funding, the Centre expressed concern over a consistent decline in the number of children covered under the scheme.
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According to figures presented before the board, enrolment under PM POSHAN has fallen for five consecutive years, from 10.049 million students in 2021-22 to 9.446 million in 2025-26. In just the last year, enrolment declined from 9.651 million to 9.446 million, a drop of around 200,000 students.
The board also noted that the average number of students actually receiving meals was even lower, at 8.332 million, describing the widening gap between enrolment and meal coverage as an “unhealthy trend”.
To understand the reasons behind the decline, the Centre has asked Maharashtra to study 10 to 20 schools in every district, examining factors such as migration, school dropouts, low attendance, declining birth rates and students shifting to private schools. The state has been directed to take corrective measures based on the findings.
The review also highlighted shortcomings in the appointment and training of cook-cum-helpers.
In 7,039 schools where meals are supplied through centralised kitchens run by women’s self-help groups, only 1,892 cook-cum-helpers have been engaged. State officials told the board that this was due to a different state policy, which has now been aligned with the Centre’s guidelines.
The Centre also flagged the low level of training among these workers. Only 13% of cook-cum-helpers across Maharashtra have received training, while 16 districts reported that no training programmes were conducted at all. State officials attributed the delay to local body elections disrupting the training schedule.
The board has directed Maharashtra to ensure annual training and refresher courses for all cook-cum-helpers to improve food safety, hygiene and overall implementation of the scheme.
Health services linked to PM POSHAN also came under scrutiny.
The board found that only 40% of students received deworming tablets, with 15 districts reporting no distribution whatsoever. Similarly, Iron and Folic Acid tablets reached only 64% of students, while Akola, Bhandara, Kolhapur and Parbhani reported no distribution of the supplements.
The Centre has asked the state to prepare a joint action plan with the Health Department to improve the reach of these interventions.
The review further found that Maharashtra utilised only 60% of the funds provided for transporting foodgrains and just 31% of the allocation meant for monitoring and evaluation.
While 89% of schools across Maharashtra now cook meals using LPG, the board noted that only 17% of schools in Akola have shifted to the cleaner fuel. The Centre has directed the state to ensure that every eligible child receives a hot cooked meal on every school day, or a Food Security Allowance wherever meals cannot be served.
The decision drew criticism from educationists, parents and nutrition experts, who argued that children from poorer households would lose access to an important source of affordable protein.
Following the backlash, the state reversed its decision in February 2025, restoring eggs and bananas once a week and announcing plans to increase funding for the initiative.
