The mid-day meals meals in schools and the meal format in residential schools and hostels in Telangana state has become a model for other states in the Country, the Minister for Civil Supplies and Finance Etela Rajender said today.
Replying to questions in the Legislative Assembly, he said that the impact of the mid-day meals sachem has motivated the students to study and excel in academics.
Rajender said though Telangana is the youngest State in India, it was drawing attention by supplying super fine rice in its endeavour to ensure fully nutritious food to the students. He said that though it was costing the Government high, fine rice is being supplied for the meal scheme. The Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is the opinion that it was not proper to limit the quantity of food for children to 125, 175 or 400 grams of rice, considering their nutritional needs at the growing age, he said and added that they are determined to run the scheme in the best manner possible.
The Minister said that Rs. 2,200 crore was provided in the budget under subsidy-on-rice scheme for the welfare of students in schools and hostels. He said that as of now, 71,729 tonnes (32,299 for hostels and 39,430 tonnes for schools) of super fine rice were supplied to 3,036 hostels and 34,319 schools with 5.39 lakh and 29.86 lakh students, respectively. Rajender also said that when fine rice is not available in the State, they were getting the same from other States also. (NSS)