Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, commended the Government of West Bengal for strengthening the PM-POSHAN scheme, citing enhanced cooking costs, improved support for cook-cum-helpers, and 100% LPG coverage in schools as key steps toward better child nutrition and safety.

Context

Pradhan's post on X highlighted three concrete improvements rolled out under the PM-POSHAN framework in West Bengal: revised cooking-cost norms, better remuneration and support for cook-cum-helpers, and full liquefied petroleum gas coverage across government schools. He described these as measures that will 'go a long way in improving nutrition, safety and the overall well-being of our children.'

The minister also invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's articulated vision of a Sonar Bangla — a prosperous Bengal — framing the state's initiative as aligned with that broader aspiration for the region's people.

Policy Backdrop

The PM-POSHAN scheme — formally known as the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme — is a centrally sponsored programme that provides hot cooked meals to children in government and government-aided schools. It is the successor to the long-running Mid-Day Meal Scheme, which was revamped and renamed in September 2021 with higher financial norms and upgraded nutrition standards.

The scheme covers crores of schoolchildren across India, with states responsible for day-to-day implementation while the Centre sets financial and nutritional benchmarks. Cooking cost revisions and LPG adoption are critical levers: they directly affect meal quality, hygiene, and the working conditions of the largely female workforce of cook-cum-helpers who prepare meals daily.

The National Education Policy has explicitly linked health and nutrition outcomes to learning achievement, making mid-day meal quality a stated priority for the education ministry under Pradhan's tenure.

Stakeholders and Impact

The most direct beneficiaries are school children enrolled in government schools across West Bengal, for whom consistent, nutritious meals can significantly affect attendance, concentration, and long-term health indicators. Equally affected are the state's cook-cum-helpers — frontline workers whose wages and working conditions are shaped by the financial norms the state applies.

The shift to 100% LPG coverage eliminates dependence on solid biomass fuels in school kitchens, reducing indoor air pollution and fire hazards — a safety upgrade with direct implications for both the helpers and the children they serve. Enhanced cooking costs mean schools can procure better-quality ingredients, closing a long-standing gap between the scheme's nutritional targets and ground-level delivery.

What's Next

The education ministry is expected to track state-level progress reports on LPG adoption and cooking-cost implementation as part of its periodic PM-POSHAN review cycle. West Bengal's upgrades could be cited as a model during the next inter-ministerial review or in parliamentary discussions on scheme utilisation during the upcoming session.

Pradhan's public acknowledgement signals that the Centre views state-level enhancements favourably and may use such examples to encourage other states to align their own implementation norms closer to the scheme's intended standards — underscoring the importance of centre-state coordination in delivering on school welfare commitments.