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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 3717
ANSWERED ON- 25.03.2026
Honorarium for Mid-Day Meal workers in schools
3717 Dr. John Brittas:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) current share of the Central Government in the monthly honorarium of mid-day meal
workers and helpers in schools under PM POSHAN;
(b) current actual contribution of State Governments in the monthly honorarium being paid
to mid-day meal workers and helpers in schools under PM POSHAN;
(c) State-wise and category-wise details thereof;
(d) whether Union Government will take steps to increase its contribution in the honorarium of mid-
day meal workers and helpers in schools, considering that several States, including Kerala, have
already enhanced their share of the contribution on multiple occasions; and
(e) if not, reasons therefor and details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (e): Education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and the majority of
schools are under the administrative control of the respective State Government/Union Territory (UT)
administration. 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.
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. However, these CCHs are honorary workers who have come forward
for rendering social services. As per guidelines of the Scheme, honorarium of Rs. 1000/- per month for
10 months in a year is prescribed for these CCHs in recognition of their services. The State
Governments and UT Administrations have the authority to enhance the honorarium by providing
additional funds from their own resources and many State Governments and UT Administrations have
supplemented the honorarium by providing additional funds including the State of Kerala. The
honorarium to CCHs is shared between the Centre and States/UTs as per the approved funding pattern
of 90:10 for North Eastern Region (NER) States and 2 Himalayan States and UT of J&K, 100% for
UTs without Legislature and 60:40 for other States as well as 2 UTs with Legislature (Delhi and
Puducherry).
The details of honorarium provided to CCHs under the PM POSHAN Scheme by the States
and UTs are given at Annexure.
*****ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3717 FOR 25.03.2026 ASKED BY HON’BLE MP DR. JOHN
BRITTAS REGARDING HONORARIUM FOR MID-DAY MEAL WORKERS IN SCHOOL.
State/ UT-wise Honorarium of Cook cum Helper per month
S.No. States/UTs Honorarium Per Month Additional Honorarium per
(in Rs) month to cook-cum-helpers
provided by States/ UTs (in Rs)
*
1 Andhra Pradesh 3000 2000
2 Arunachal Pradesh 2000 1000
3 Assam 1500 500
4 Bihar 1650 650
5 Chhattisgarh 2000 1000
6 Goa 1000 0
7 Gujarat 3250 2250
8 Haryana 7000 6000
9 Himachal Pradesh 4500 3500
10 Jharkhand 3000 2000
11 Karnataka 3700 2700
12 Kerala 12000 11000
13 Madhya Pradesh 4000 3000
14 Maharashtra 2500 1500
15 Manipur 1000 0
16 Meghalaya 2000 1000
17 Mizoram 3000 2000
18 Nagaland 1000 0
19 Odisha 2000 1000
20 Punjab 3000 2000
21 Rajasthan 2143 1143
22 Sikkim 1000 0
23 Tamil Nadu 4100-12500 3100-11500
24 Telangana 3000 2000
25 Tripura 2500 1500
26 Uttar Pradesh 2000 1000
27 Uttarakhand 3000 2000
28 West Bengal 2000 1000
29 A&N Islands 1000 0
30 Chandigarh 4500 3500
31 D&N and D & Diu 6461 5461
32 Delhi 1000 0
33 Jammu & Kashmir 1000 0
34 Ladakh 1000 0
35 Lakshadweep 18000-20200 17000-19200
36 Puducherry 10000 9000
*Source-Information received in Annual Work Plan & Budget submitted by States/ UTs