Students to get allowance if mid-day meal not served

School students would be paid food security allowance in case mid-day meals are not supplied, according to a notification for the 'Mid-day Meal Rules, 2015', the government said on Thursday.

The new rules, which came into immediate effect, would also provide for temporary utilisation of other funds available with the school for mid-day meals in case the school exhausts the funds for any reason.

"In accordance with the provisions of the National Food Security Act, the human resource development ministry has finalised the mid-day meal rules after consultation with the states and other related central ministries.

"The rules will be known as Mid-day Meal Rules, 2015 and will be in effect from the date of notification (September 30) in the gazette of India," an official statement said.

Under the new guidelines, monthly tests of meals on a random basis would be conducted by accredited laboratories to check quality.

The rules also say the concerned state governments will fix responsibility on the person or agency if meals are not provided on three consecutive school days or five days in a month.

"These rules and their effective compliance by implementing agencies in the states will ensure better regularity in serving mid-day meals in schools and also improve quality of the meals as well as overall implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in the country," the statement said.