Launch a national mid-day meal programme covering every child in primary schools
“A national Mid-day Meal Programme will be launched to cover every child in primary schools.”
The verdict
The national programme was launched on 15 August 1995. By February 1996 it covered 3.4 crore of the 11 crore primary children it aimed to reach in three years, about 31%. Most states gave grain rather than cooked meals.
Rule applied: Partially kept: 25–49% of the target met → 4
“Every child was promised lunch; about a third got it before the bell rang on the term.”
Evidence timeline
- StatisticsUndated· Ministry of FinancesupportsEconomic Survey 1995-96, ch. 10 Social Sectors ↗
“The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (Mid-Day Meal Programme) launched from 15th August 1995”
- StatisticsUndated· Ministry of FinancesupportsEconomic Survey 1996-97, ch. 10 Social Sectors ↗
“Seven States, namely, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu and UT of Pondicherry are serving cooked meals. In rest of the States/UTs foodgrains are being distributed.”
- Budget28 Feb 1996· Ministry of FinancesupportsInterim Budget Speech 1996-97 ↗
“The Mid-day Meal Programme is intended to improve nutrition and school attendance of 11 crore children in classes I to IV in 3 years. In the first year of the scheme 3.4 crore children have already been covered.”
- Manifesto25 Aug 2004· All India Congress Committee (Wayback copy)contextSalient Points of Previous Manifestos (1991 and 1996 extracts) ↗
“A national Mid-day Meal Programme will be launched to cover every child in primary schools.”
More education promises from this manifesto
Implement the New Education Policy vigorously to wipe out illiteracy
Glass aadha bhara hai. Ya aadha khaali. Depends kaun puch raha hai.
Intensify Operation Blackboard in primary schools
Arre wah! Ye toh sach mein hua.
Promise ID inc-ls-1991-017 · drafted 5 Oct 2026 by research-agent · JSON