Study of Impact of Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme on School Enrolment & Retention

Chhattisgarh is one of the youngest states of the Republic of India. It came into existence in the year 2000 by bifurcating 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking south-eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh. Raipur was made the capital city of the State. It is the 10thlargest state in India, with an area of 135,191 km2 with a population of 25.5 million spread across five divisions - Bastar, Durg, Raipur, Bilaspur and Surguja. Chhattisgarh is the 16thmost-populated state of India. As per Census 2011 provisional data, Chhattisgarh had 18 districts which have increased to 27 districts in 2012-13. According to India Human Development Report (NHDR), 2011, Chhattisgarh state has an Education Index of 0.526 which is higher than that of states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The Education index is, however, lower than the national average of 0.563. So far as literacy is concerned, the state fared just below the national average. The recent estimates of Census 2011 also indicate a similar picture of literacy rate of 71 per cent (81.4% Males & 60.5% Females), which is close to the all India literacy rate of 74 per cent. The School Education in Chhattisgarh is mainly under the control of Department of School Education, it conducts educational activities from Pre-primary to Higher Secondary Education within the state. Some Missionary Organizations, Local Bodies & Private Institutions are also engaged in providing education in the state. As per data available from Govt. of India’s Department of School Education and Literacy (Ministry of Human Resource Development), Chhattisgarh has a total of 146 blocks of which 74 blocks are Educationally Backward Blocks (EBB)1