TV
In a bid to enhance the nutrition outcomes of school children, the Odisha government has approved a proposal to provide three nutrition-rich laddoos in a week.
These laddoos will be provided on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, at a cost of Rs. 3.50 per laddoo during morning assembly. These nutrient-rich laddoos will be provided to the students from Class l to X covered under the PM POSHAN Scheme starting from 1st April 2025.
Fibre, iron & healthy fats
In a letter to all Collectors, the School and Mass Education department informed that “These laddoos will be made of groundnut, sesame and millet with jaggery which are rich in fibre, iron and healthy fats and can act as good source of energy to all students enrolled from Class I to X in the Government and Government Aided Schools covered under PM POSHAN Scheme. The laddoos will be prepared by Cooks-cum-Helpers (CCHs) deployed in the schools.”
The School and Mass Education department requested the Collectors “to instruct all DEOs to provide guidelines and take necessary steps to implement the supplementary nutrition programme through providing nutrition-rich laddoos at Rs 3.50 for each laddoo per student. The detailed list containing the approximate number of students will be shared in a separate letter for further course of action”
The letter also laid out the Standard Operating Procedure to be followed to provide nutrition-rich laddoos to the students covered under the PM Poshan scheme.
Sourcing and procurement
• Headmaster (HM) may source the raw millet or millet powder/ groundnut sesame/ other ingredients from the local market on a weekly/ fortnightly basis after cross-checking the authenticity and expiry of the product so that the procured millet and other ingredients are of good quality.
• The purchased raw millet or millet powder/ groundnut sesame including other ingredients should be kept in an airtight jar/container
• Cooks need to keep their hands clean, and the containers used for the preparation and storage must be clean and dry
Preparation & recipe
• Cook-cum-Helpers (CCHs) have received training on the preparation of millet laddoos during the capacity building programme of CCHs held during the month of April to July 2023.
• Nutrition-rich laddoos recipe is available on the website of the Odisha Millet Mission. The recipe can also be found on YouTube - CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO
Quality control
Cooks are required to prepare nutrition-rich laddoos on the day of distribution or prior to the day of distribution so that the quality of laddoos will be maintained. However, if the laddoos are prepared in advance, they should be kept in a clean and hygienic manner in an airtight container for a shelf-life period of a maximum of 30 days.
