Bhubaneswar, March 7: A total of 41,74,915 students from classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools across Odisha are currently benefiting from the PM Poshan (midday meal) scheme, School and Mass Education (S&ME) Minister Nityananda Gond informed the Odisha Assembly on Friday.

In a written reply to a query by Baliguda MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the Minister stated that the cost of food per student is determined by the Central government, while the state government provides its share of the fixed cost and additional food expenses from its own budget.

Currently, the per-student cost for meals is Rs. 7.64 for primary students (classes 1 to 5) and Rs. 10.94 for upper primary students (classes 6 to 8). The Minister highlighted that if the scheme is extended to students of classes 9 and 10, an additional 10.8 lakh children would be included.

However, the expansion would impose a financial burden of Rs. 646.31 crore annually on the state government, which would require additional budgetary provisions, he added.

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