Late last year it was biscuit manufacturers, including Britannia, who created a minor firestorm by lobbying the government (with the help of not a few MPs) to allow small packets of iron-fortified biscuits to replace hot, cooked meals in the school mid-day meals programme, which is supposed to cover more than 12 crore children in 9.5 lakh government schools around the country. But the Supreme Court squashed their hopes, insisting that only freshly cooked meals were mandated.
This week, a similar effort was nipped in the bud when the Planning Commission refused to support Renuka Chowdhury's ministry's proposal of pre-packaged, micronutrient-fortified food for 8 crore children. It even threatened to withdraw funding.
Hot, fresh meals work in many ways