-The Telegraph What happened in Bihar won't happen in Jharkhand, promise mandarins. Jolted out of slumber by the midday meal tragedy at a government primary school in Saran that claimed 23 children earlier this week, the lone food-testing laboratory of the state in Ranchi is considering an expansion of its ambit to cover all cradle kitchens. If lab officials are to be believed, a proposal to keep regular tabs on midday meals being...

-PTI Raipur: Nearly 30 students were fell illafter eating mid day meals at their school in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district on Saturday, district authorities said. "Thirty students of a Primary school at Maugaon village complained of stomach pain and vomiting after eating the mid-day meal, following which 25 of them were rushed to Bemetara district hospital," Bemetara Collector Basavaraju S told PTI over phone. "The condition of these 25 children is said to be...

-The Times of India The tragic incident in Bihar has raised questions about the midday meal (MDM) scheme, an otherwise popular and successful programme. Laggard states should use this as an opportunity to catch up with others and protect the scheme against emerging dangers. For those unfamiliar with it, the MDM scheme is a huge programme that today feeds more than 11 crore children every day. It is also a very popular...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Bengal government is set to issue fresh guidelines asking primary school heads to taste the food before each midday meal and making ISI-certified oil a must for cooking. In the current system followed in most schools, the cook and a teacher are supposed to taste and check the food before it is served to students. The government wants to strengthen the quality check in the wake of the midday...

-The Hindu Social audits of the mid-day meal scheme by parents can ensure that the world's largest intervention against hunger that also helps keep children in school need not suffer setbacks like the Bihar tragedy This week, 23 children lost their lives after having a mid-day meal served at a school in Bihar's Saran district. Preliminary reports suggest that the school lacked a storage facility for foodgrain which led to contamination and...