Parliament Question: Budget Allocation for PM POSHAN

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 3729 ANSWERED ON- 16.03.2026 Budget Allocation for PM POSHAN 3729. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the details of aims and objectives of PM POSHAN and allocation of Budget and expenditure for the scheme in 2025-26 in the country; (b) the number of cases of food adulteration reported in the country and the action taken on the same by the Government during the current financial year, State/UT-wise; (c) whether it is a fact that schools covered under PM POSHAN in Andhra Pradesh have come down from 45,545 in 2020-21 to 43,900 in 2024-25, if so, the reasons therefor; and (d) the number of schools covered in Andhra Pradesh under PM POSHAN in 2025-26, district- wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and most of the Government Schools and School Boards are under the administration of the State Governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrations. Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme is one of the foremost rights based Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in partnership with the States and UTs for providing one hot cooked and nutritious meal to all children studying in Bal Vatika (just before class-I) and classes I to VIII of Government and Government-aided schools. The Scheme covers about 11 crore children in more than 10.35 lakh schools in all the States/UTs. A sum of Rs. 10,600 crore was allocated during Financial Year 2025-26 and Rs. 8,947.88 crore was released to various States/ UTs till 11.03.2026. The overall responsibility for smooth functioning of the scheme including providing hot cooked and nutritious meal to the eligible children as well as engagement of cook-cum-helpers (CCHs) lies with the States/ UTs. The objectives of the Scheme are to address two of the pressing problems for majority of children in India, viz. hunger and education by: i) Improving the nutritional status of children studying in Bal Vatika (just before class I) and classes I–VIII in Government and Government-Aided Schools without any discrimination.ii) Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities. iii) Providing nutritional support to children of elementary stage in drought / disaster affected areas during summer vacation and disaster times. During 2025-26, a total of three (03) cases of food adulteration were reported under PM POSHAN Scheme including two (02) in Rajasthan and one (01) in Delhi. All the children reported ill during these incidents were treated and discharged from hospital and no casualty was reported. The actions in these cases include warning to the concerned NGOs and officers responsible, initiation of departmental proceedings against Principals, Head Masters, suspension & transfer of erring officials & Cook-cum-Helpers and cancellation of contract of suppliers. The State Government of Andhra Pradesh has informed that, the number of schools have come down from 2020-21 to 2024-25 due to various reasons like merger of aided schools during 2021-22, consolidation of schools during 2022-23, temporary closure of schools due to no enrolment, permanent closure of schools due to non-viability and no enrolment for more than 3 years. The district-wise number of schools covered under PM POSHAN Scheme in Andhra Pradesh is at Annexure-I. *****ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3729 FOR 16.03.2026 RAISED BY SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI, HON’BLE MP REGARDING BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR PM POSHAN. Number of schools covered under PM POSHAN Scheme in Andhra Pradesh S. No. District Number of Schools 1 Anakapalli 1396 2 Anantapur 1678 3 Annamayya 2086 4 Asr 2651 5 Bapatla 1383 6 Chittoor 2380 7 East Godavari 973 8 Eluru 1705 9 Guntur 1052 10 Kadapa 1926 11 Kakinada 1245 12 Konaseema 1554 13 Krishna 1336 14 Kurnool 1422 15 Manyam 1480 16 Nandyal 1352 17 Nellore 2487 18 Ntr 897 19 Palnadu 1517 20 Prakasam 2302 21 Sri Satyasai 1985 22 Srikakulam 2534 23 Tirupati 2206 24 Visakhapatnam 582 25 Vizianagaram 1719 26 West Godavari 1381 Total 43229