Odisha revises mid-day meal cost for 2019-20

Bhubaneswar: Taking into account the rise in cost of essential commodities, Odisha government has revised the daily ration cost for the mid-day meal programme in various schools in the State by over 3%.

As per the letter issued to all Collectors, additional secretary of the School and Mass Education Department, Gangadhar Sahoo informed that the cost of daily ration has been revised from Rs 4.80 to Rs 4.93 per meal for the students of primary schools in the state. Similarly, the cost has been revised from Rs 7.16 to Rs 7.36 for the students of Upper Primary Schools with effect from July 1.

Senior officials informed that the daily expenditure is to be made on the prevailing market price, availability of seasonal vegetables and the average unit cost of expenditure should be kept within Rs 4.93 per meal for primary and Rs 7.36 for upper primary schools.

As per the State government notification, the MHRD on June 24 has communicated regarding the increase in the mid-day meal cooking cost by 3.09 %. As per the mid-day meal guidelines, the cooking cost is shared by the centre and the state government on 60:40 basis and the increase will also be shared on same basis.