How Odisha Runs the Scheme
Odisha implements PM POSHAN through its School and Mass Education Department, serving a cooked meal to roughly 45 lakh children in about fifty thousand government and government-aided schools from Class I to Class VIII. The state has built a reputation for adding to the central provisions from its own budget to improve the quality of the meal.
State Top-Up on Cooking Cost
On top of the central cooking cost of ₹6.78 for primary and ₹10.17 for upper primary (effective May 2025), Odisha adds a state contribution. With its existing top-up and a further per-student hike announced for 2025–26, the effective amount available per child in the state works out to about ₹11.15 for primary and ₹14.74 for upper primary. These are the figures the school-level calculation is balanced against.
Enhanced Weekly Menu
To improve protein intake and variety, Odisha has enriched its weekly menu. Children receive rice with dalma (a lentil-and-vegetable preparation), soybean badi curry, and egg curry on designated days, along with nutrition-rich laddoos served multiple times a week. The aim is to move beyond plain rice-and-dal toward a more balanced, diverse plate that meets the calorie and protein norms.
The Women's Self-Help Group Model
A distinctive feature of Odisha's implementation is the heavy involvement of women's self-help groups in cooking and managing meals. This community-driven model improves accountability and taste, and it provides livelihood to local women. The cooks, known locally as Pachikas, are central to this arrangement.
Cook Remuneration
Recognising the importance of these workers, Odisha increased the monthly remuneration of its cook-cum-helpers to ₹3,000, benefiting more than one lakh helpers across the state. This is paid for ten months in the year.
Monitoring and Reporting
Odisha uses daily reporting systems so that the number of meals served is captured close to real time. District Education Officers are periodically directed to verify enrolment and ensure that cook engagement and meal service conform to the prescribed norms. Schools are expected to keep registers of attendance, stock and payments to support inspection and social audit.