Nutritional standards and norms under the PM POSHAN Scheme
Ministry of Education clarified the PM POSHAN Scheme’s nutritional and food norms, including daily calorie/protein and food-grain/vegetable quantities, and the 5% flexi budget for School Nutrition Gardens.
- State Governments and UT Administrations handle hot meals for Bal Vatika and classes I to VIII in covered schools.
- States and UTs can choose menus for local food habits, within the scheme’s calorie and food norms.
- A 5% flexi component from the total recurring budget supports School Nutrition Gardens and supplementary nutrition in identified districts.
- PM POSHAN sets separate daily calorie and protein targets for primary and upper primary children.
What happened: Ministry of Education clarified PM POSHAN nutritional and food norms
The Ministry of Education stated the nutritional and food norms used under the PM POSHAN Scheme for children in Bal Vatika (just before class 1) and classes I to VIII of government and government-aided schools. The Ministry also described meal frequency, state/UT roles, the 5% flexi component for School Nutrition Gardens, and an evaluation finding reported through NITI Aayog in 2025-26.
Service delivery basics under PM POSHAN
UPSC may treat PM POSHAN nutrition norms as an example of how a welfare programme converts a statutory food-security approach (National Food Security Act, 2013) into measurable daily entitlements for children. The focus can be on how menu flexibility, procurement practices, and a dedicated budget component for nutrition gardens fit into the scheme’s service-delivery guarantees.
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