The Right to Food Campaign, a network of activists working on food and nutrition, slammed the Union government’s move to cut down oil by 10% in the government school mid-day meal (MDM) or PM-Poshan programme under the anti-obesity drive launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it an “unscientific” decision.
“We hold that the sweeping statements by the Prime Minister and Ministry of Education, dismissing a significant food group from the menu of children in government schools and without evidence or due process of consultation, is irresponsible and arbitrary,” the group said.
“We need more not less healthy fats and oils for children,” it said. “In our experience, there are barriers for poorer communities to meet the recommended intake of fats and oils.”
According to the statement, children and adolescents may therefore need to be consuming more, not less fats and oils, in most parts of the country.
The Right to Food Campaign said that the Union government’s advisory did not mention ways to improve the nutritional quality or the diversity of items included in the menu of the mid-day meals.
The group noted that the advisory came on the “heels of a statement by the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] expressing ‘concern’ that childhood obesity is increasing among school children in India.”
The food activists were referring to recent comments made by PM Modi during a ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 2025’ event and a ‘Mann ki Baat’ episode on the increasing obesity rates among school students in India. The prime minister mentioned an article in The Lancet, which had reported that 12.5 million children between 5 to 19 years were overweight in 2022 as compared to 0.4 million in 1990.
“It is of note that the government vehemently rejects international reports such as the Global Hunger Index but readily quotes obesity statistics from a Lancet report while ignoring compelling data on malnutrition in national surveys,” read the statement of Right to Food Campaign.
The food activists claimed that a large number of children were underweight or stunted and were being ignored.
“It appears like obesity is just an excuse to further cut the already abysmal budgets for the mid-day meal scheme,” the statement said. “The cost norms for school meals are inadequate to provide a balanced, nutritious, and fresh meal to children. Moreover, the budgetary allocations by the Union Government have reduced by 40% in real terms, in the last ten years.”
The group said that the Union government should have ideally conducted a national survey on the current nutritional intake and status before making any recommendations about what should be eaten.
“There is no data whatsoever on the diversity of the mid-day meals and whether oil is actually being added to the food and if so, how much,” the statement said.
The food activists demanded the immediate withdrawal of the advisory and a circular to state governments to halt any actions undertaken on it.
The Right to Food Campaign also said that committees should be established that have the required expertise, adequate representation by marginalised communities and mandate to consult widely before making technical recommendations.
“All efforts are to be made to increase [not decrease] dietary diversity promoting local produce and nutritionally-sound cultural preferences including animal-based sources of food,” the food activists added. “Budgets should be enhanced to allow for increased dietary diversity given the rising costs of fruits, vegetables, pulses, eggs, milk, meat, fish, oils/fats, etc.”
On 15 March, the Union Ministry of Education issued an advisory urging state governments to reduce the usage of cooking oil by 10% in the mid-day meal programmes under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme.
The ministry noted that there was a need to raise awareness among teachers, parents, students and community members on reducing the usage of cooking oil by 10% in daily life through innovative ways.
“All cook-cum-helpers in schools must be trained to reduce the usage of cooking oil by 10%,” the advisory said. “We urge all students to be mindful of their oil consumption and adopt healthier cooking methods such as grilling, steaming, or baking instead of deep-frying.”
