Maha to provide skimmed milk powder to primary school students

The Maharashtra government has decided to provide 600 grams of skimmed milk powder as health supplement to each primary school student for three months as part of a pilot project.

A government resolution issued today by the School Education and Sports department stated that each student of Classes I to VIII would be given three packets, of 200 grams each, of skimmed milk powder over three months.

It said that a committee headed by the additional chief secretary, School Education department will monitor the scheme while the director, primary education would the coordinating officer.

The pilot project would, however, not include schools in Mumbai as they are already covered by a Central government nutrition programme, it added.

As per the Economic Survey of Maharashtra for 2017-18, the state has 1.18 crore students studying in 1,06,527 primary schools (Std I to Std VIII).

It said that schools will give out these packets in the presence of the management committee on a designated day called "skimmed milk powder distribution day".

On this day, schools are also expected to teach parents how to make milk out of the skimmed powder so that they can feed it to their children.

The GR noted that the pilot project was decided upon after observing the surplus production of milk in Maharashtra.

The state government had announced the inclusion of milk or milk powder in the school nutrition scheme in the Legislative Assembly on July 10.

It had also studied the "ksheera bhagya yojana" in neighbouring Karnataka.

The ksheera bhagya is a programme of distributing milk to school and anganawadi children by the Karnataka government in collaboration with dairy unions and the state's Department of Primary and Secondary Education and Department of Women and Child Development.