Lok Sabha Question No. 972 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-02
Subject: Reduction of Funds for PM-POSHAN Scheme
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 972 ANSWERED ON 02.12.2024

## Reduction of Funds for PM-POSHAN Scheme

## 972.  Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) the reason for the continued and consistent reduction of fund allocation to the Pradhan MantriPoshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) Scheme since 2017;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  impact  of  the  budgetary  reduction  on outcomes of parallel schemes like Samagra Siksha Abhiyaan;
- (c) whether the Government has any proposals to combat loss of learning and nutrition outcomes due to reduction of funds; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a) : PM POSHAN is one of the foremost rights based Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in partnership with the States and UTs for providing one hot cooked and nutritious meal to 11.70 crore children studying in Balvatika (pre-primary classes) and classes I to VIII of 10.24 lakh Government and Government-aided schools on all school working days. The overall responsibility for providing meal to the eligible children lies with the State Governments and Union Territory  Administrations in accordance  with the Guidelines laid down by the Central Government. Government of India gives importance and priority to quality education. Hence, there is increase in Budget Allocation every year. Since 2017-18 till 2024-25, there is consistent increase in Budget of this Ministry and also the PM POSHAN Scheme. The year-wise Budget Estimates for Ministry of Education and the PM POSHAN Scheme is as under:

## (Rs. in Crore)

| Year    | Budget Estimates      | Budget Estimates   |
|---------|-----------------------|--------------------|
|         | Ministry of Education | PM POSHAN Scheme   |
| 2017-18 | 79685.95              | 10000.00           |
| 2018-19 | 85010.29              | 10500.00           |
| 2019-20 | 94853.64              | 11000.00           |
| 2020-21 | 99311.52              | 11000.00           |
| 2021-22 | 93224.31              | 11500.00           |
| 2022-23 | 104277.72             | 10233.75           |
| 2023-24 | 112899.47             | 11600.00           |
| 2024-25 | 121117.87             | 12467.39           |

- (b) to  (d):  Education  is  a  subject  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  the  majority  of schools are under administrative control of the respective State Government/UT administration. To  improve  quality  of  Education,  learning  outcomes  and  better  nutrition  of  students,  the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is implemented by Department of School Education & Literacy with States/UTs in a synchronized and systematic manner. The major initiatives and achievements of NEP 2020 includes:
- Samagra Shiksha: The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education is implementing Samagra Shiksha from 2018-19 across the entire country. The scheme has been aligned  with  the  recommendations  of  the  National  Education  Policy  (NEP),  2020.  It  aims  to ensure  that  all  children  have  access  to  quality  education  with  an  equitable  and  inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in a continuous learning process.
- National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy (NIPUN BHARAT) launched on 5 th July 2021.
- 4-year integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) has been notified by NCTE vide gazette notification dated 22.10.2021. For academic session 2024-25, 23 institutions have been recognized by NCTE for Phase 2 Piloting of ITEP.
- National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) launched on 20th October, 2022.
- Based on NCF, Learning Teaching Material (Jadui Pitara) and Textbooks for classes I and II launched on 20th February, 2023 and 5th July, 2023 respectively. Digital version of the Jadui Pitara also launched on 10th February, 2024.
- National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) released on 23 rd August 2023. Textbooks for classes 3 and 6 for the academic year 2024-25 as per NCF-SE (2023) have been released.
- PARAKH: In  pursuance  of  the  recommendation  of  the  NEP  2020,  the  National  Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), was established on 8th February, 2023 by the Ministry of Education under the National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training  (NCERT).  PARAKH's  primary objective is to establish norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation across  all  recognized  school  boards  in  the  country  and  to  ensure  equivalence  of  academic standards  among  learners  across  all  school  boards.  PARAKH  is  closely  working  with  school boards and conducting various workshops on equivalence of academic standards among learners across  all  school  boards.  PARAKH  also  acts  as  a  platform  for  sharing  best  practices  and ensuring academic equivalence across various school boards, fostering fairness and uniformity in student learning outcomes. It provides guidance to school boards on new assessment patterns, the latest research and promotes collaboration among school boards. The series of workshops organized  by  PARAKH  is  a  critical  step  towards  improving  quality  of  assessment  by standardizing  question  paper  templates  and  enhancing  the  capacity  of  question  paper  setters across  school  boards.  Restructuring  assessment  methodologies  is  crucial  for  reducing  rote learning  and  focusing  on  critical  thinking  and  the  evaluation  of  core  competencies  to  enable student  mobility  across  school  boards  and  schools  without  disadvantage  due  to  differing assessment systems.
- For  Competency  Based  Assessment  for  Holistic  Development,  the Holistic  Progress  Card (HPC) for the Preparatory, Foundational, Middle and Secondary stage have been prepared and shared with all states and UTs.
- National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) document outlines the competencies that teachers should possess to effectively perform their roles released on 9th March 2024.
- National Mission for Mentoring (NMM)- 'Bluebook on NMM' released on 9 th  March 2024, talks about the creation of a large pool of outstanding professionals willing to provide mentoring to school teachers.
- Under PM  eVIDYA , DIKSHA  is  one  nation,  one  digital  education  infrastructure .  All states/UTs have been onboarded in DIKSHA. DIKSHA provides quality e-content for school education in States/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital  platform). DIKSHA  currently  hosts  7,080+  textbooks  energized  with  QR  codes, including 374 NCERT textbooks and ETBs. The e-Content is available in 108 Languages (101 Indian languages +7 Foreign Languages).
- DIET- Centre of Excellence: The NEP 2020 recognises reinvigoration of DIETs to change the capacity  and  work  culture  of  these  institutions  and  develop  them  into  vibrant  institutions  of excellence. Financial assistance under Samagra Shiksha is provided to States/UTs for physical upgradation  of  all  613  functional  DIETs  in  the  country  in  a  phased  manner  in  the  next  five years. In the FY 2023-24, 125 DIETS across 33 States/UTs with an approximate budget of Rs. 92,320.18 Lakhs was approved.
- Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme is revamped and extended to  cover  students  of  Balvatika  in  addition  to  students  of  Classes  I-VIII  in  Government  and Government-Aided Schools. It encourages setting up of School Nutrition Gardens (SNG) and strengthening of community participation through ' Tithi Bhojan' .
- Tithi Bhojan :  Tithi Bhojan is a community participation programme in which people provide special  food  to  children  on  special  occasions/festivals  in  addition  to  regular  meal.  Recently Shiksha Saptah was conducted in Government and Government aided Schools across the entire country in which Tithi Bhojan was provided in more than 2 lakh schools to more than 1.6 crore students.
- School  Nutrition  Gardens  (SNGs) :  Under  the  Scheme,  development  of  School  Nutrition Gardens in schools is being promoted, to give children first hand experience with nature and gardening. In 5.16 lakh schools, SNGs have been set up across the country.
- PM SHRI (PM Schools  for  Rising  India)  scheme launched  on  07th  Sep  2022.  PM  SHRI Schools  are  set  up  by  strengthening  the  existing  schools  from  amongst  schools  managed  by Central government/State/UT Government/local bodies. These schools are to showcase all the initiatives of National Education Policy 2020 and emerge as exemplar schools over a period of time, and also offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood. They provide leadership in  their  respective  regions  in  providing  high-quality  education  in  an  equitable,  inclusive  and joyful  school  environment  that  takes  care  of  the  diverse  background,  multilingual  needs,  and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as per the vision of NEP 2020. Under the scheme, there is a provision of setting up of more than 14500 PM SHRI Schools by strengthening the existing schools from amongst schools managed by Central government/State/UT Government/local bodies out of which 12,084 PM SHRI Schools have been selected so far.

*****