Mid-Day Meal Scheme
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started to reduce school dropout rates and to combat under-nutrition among poor children. In late 2001, the Supreme Court directed all states to implement the scheme by providing students in government and government-assisted primary schools with one meal every day, for a minimum of 200 days. By 2006, the scheme was near universal in all states, and provides lunch to about 120 million children. It is the world’s largest school meal programme.