Need to improve delivery of mid-day meal scheme: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme needed to be improved to ensure that the tragedy in Bihar in which 23 schoolchildren died was not repeated "anywhere in the country".

"About 11 crore children are being provided afternoon meals every day in schools under the mid-day meal scheme. This programme is of immense benefit for both education and nutrition of children," Manmohan Singh said in his address to the nation on Independence Day.

"However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy that happened in Bihar some days back should not be repeated anywhere in the country," he added.

Calling for reforming the mid-day meal scheme, the prime minister said: "The meals being provided to our children should not only be nutritious but also be cooked hygienically. We will take concrete measures to ensure this."

Twenty-three children died after eating a contaminated mid-day meal in Bihar's Saran district last month.