The Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) in India is considered to be the world’s largest school meal programme, serving hot cooked meals to the underprivileged children. The ideas behind the introduction of this programme are to remove malnutrition, supplement nutritional foods in school meals, to motivate out-school children towards regular school, to decrease absenteeism and dropout rate, and to bridge inequality among the children irrespective of their caste, class and gender backgrounds. After the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009, the programme is being monitored by the School Management Committees. The article intends to highlight the effectiveness of the MDMS in improving schools and the local communities in India. It also focuses on the challenges being confronted with the implementation of the programme and suggests some relevant policy measures for reforms.
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