MDM projections for 2009-10
Frequency of eggs in the MDM per child
1 Egg/Fortnight
1 Egg/ Week
6 Eggs/Month
2 Eggs/ Week
3 Eggs/ Week
MDM without Egg
Total
Source: Department of School Education & Literacy, India
No of States/U Ts
1
2
1
4
1
26
35
The frequency of the scheme has helped to imporve the nutrition
of India's schoolchildren, while its scale has acted as a significant
boost to the egg industry.
nutrition, the midday meal scheme has an important social
value that fosters equality. As children learn to sit together
and share a common meal, one can expect some erosion
of caste prejudices and class inequalities as a consequence.
Eggs and the MDM
The introduction of a boiled egg into the midday meal
was initiated in the state of Tamil Nadu in 1989. From July
2006, two boiled eggs were provided every week per child.
Since July 2007, this was increased to three eggs a week
— every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Tamil Nadu.
Primary school dropout rates have fallen as a result of the
supply of eggs in the midday meal scheme in the state.
Considering the success in Tamil Nadu, many other
states have included eggs in the midday meal menu.
Among the total 28 states and seven union territories in
India, seven states and two union territories had provided
eggs in the midday meal in 2008-09, where over 990
million eggs, i.e. about 2% of the total eggs produced in
the country, were served to children under the scheme.
Midday meal projections for 2009-10
Based on Programme Approval Board (PAB) approval,
over 117 million children will participate in the scheme
during 2009-10 in the country. Considering the frequency
of supplying eggs in the menu of those nine states and
union territories, and average working days as per the PAB
approval, over 996 million eggs would be required to serve
21.81 million children during the year.
Egg — the choice for the MDM
Eggs can make significant contributions to a healthy
midday meal. The egg is a nutrient-dense food, containing
Children (million)
6. 34
3. 25
5.69
1.51
5.02
95.86
117.67
Average
Working Days
220
200
215
214
217
218
Total Egg (million)
99.63
92.86
244.67
92.33
466.86
0
996.35
Government school
meal programmes
have not only
improved child
nutrition and
boosted school
attendance rates
in India but have
also helped the egg
industry to grow.
high-quality protein, essential vitamins, minerals and
trace elements. Egg protein is of high biological value as
it contains all the essential amino acids required by the
human body.
Eggs contain most of the required vitamins with the
exception of vitamin C. They are a good source of the
fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. The egg is also a good
source of all the B vitamins, and a particularly rich source of
vitamins B12 and B2 and a useful source of folic acid.
The egg contains most of the minerals that the human
body requires for health. In particular, it is an excellent
source of iodine that is required for the production of
thyroid hormone; calcium and phosphorus that are
required for bone and teeth health. It is a significant source
of selenium, an important antioxidant and provides some
zinc that is important for wound healing, growth and
fighting infection. The egg also contains iron, the vital
ingredient of red blood cells.
Adulteration of the egg is not a concern and thus helps
fulfil the objectives of healthy nutrition. Eggs are also
comparatively economical compared to vegetable protein
sources. Moreover, boiled eggs are convenient, especially
while serving a large group, and only 48 g of the edible
