Mid Day Meal Authority

What Mid Day Meal Authority does

Mid Day Meal Authority (MDMA) is a Uttar Pradesh government body constituted on October 9, 2006 under the Uttar Pradesh Society Registration Act 1860 to operate, manage and monitor the PM POSHAN (formerly Mid Day Meal) school nutrition program across the state. Functioning under the administrative control of the Basic Education Department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, MDMA delivers free cooked meals daily to approximately 1.52 crore students across 1,41,933 government, council, aided schools and madrasas spanning all 75 districts of UP, employing 3,63,811 cook-cum-helpers (of whom 3,43,607 are female). The scheme is implemented through a decentralized model: rural areas rely on Gram Panchayat-supervised in-school kitchen sheds, while urban areas use centralized kitchens operated by NGO partners, notably Akshaypatra Foundation (present in 12 districts).

The authority's core technology product is the IVRS-based Daily Monitoring System (DMS), deployed in June 2010, which makes automated phone calls to headmasters/teachers each school day to capture meal participation data via button-press inputs and generates exception reports for non-performing schools. Supporting infrastructure includes a Management Information System (MIS) portal, the POSHANA training film (developed with UNICEF support), seven audio awareness jingles, and a standardized weekly menu delivering 450 calories/12g protein (primary) and 700 calories/20g protein (upper primary).

MDMA has no commercial revenue model; it is entirely funded by the Government of India (foodgrains via Food Corporation of India, Central share of cooking cost, MME) and the Government of Uttar Pradesh (State share of cooking cost, cook honorarium, kitchen infrastructure, LPG connections). Per-child daily norms are ₹6.78 (primary) and ₹10.17 (upper primary), shared between Central and State. The authority has received recognition including NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours 2013, UNICEF 'Innovation for Children' 2013, and a Gold Trophy for E-Governance from the Government of India for the IVRS DMS.

Name

Mid Day Meal Authority

Legal name

Mid Day Meal Authority

Website

https://upmdm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mid Day Meal Authority is a Uttar Pradesh government body that implements the PM POSHAN school nutrition program, delivering free daily cooked meals to 1.52 crore students across 1,41,933 schools in all 75 districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Nutrition Program

NAICS

Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514), Food Service Contractors (72231), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Meal Program Compliance & Administration (NSLP/SBP, Reimbursements) (EDAEAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Service & Dining Operations Management (Managed Cafeterias) (EDAEALAG), Meal Distribution, Serving Lines & Point-of-Sale (Cafeteria Service) (EDAEAEAF), Child Nutrition & Meal Programs (CACFP/Snack Programs) (EDACAMAA), Menu Planning, Nutrition & Dietary Accommodation Services (Allergens, Special Diets) (EDAEAEAD)

Keywords

• School meal program
• Child nutrition services
• Public welfare scheme
• Education nutrition support
• Government meal authority

Headquarters

HQ city

Lucknow

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Program (No Commercial Revenue): The Mid Day Meal Authority is a government body that does not generate commercial revenue. The scheme is entirely funded by the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Funding covers foodgrains (free from Food Corporation of India), conversion/cooking cost (₹6.78 per child per day for primary; ₹10.17 for upper primary), transportation cost, honorarium for cook-cum-helpers, kitchen shed construction, kitchen devices, MME (Management, Monitoring & Evaluation), and other operational expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mid Day Meal Authority, Uttar Pradesh is a state government body that operates the PM POSHAN (formerly Mid Day Meal) scheme, providing hot cooked meals daily to approximately 1.52 crore school children in Classes 1-8 across 1,41,933 government and aided schools in 75 districts. The authority funds and oversees decentralized meal preparation through Gram Panchayats (rural) and partner NGOs such as Akshaypatra Foundation (urban), and runs an IVRS-based Daily Monitoring System to track meal preparation and delivery in real time.

Product overview

Mid Day Meal Authority, Uttar Pradesh operates the PM POSHAN (formerly Mid Day Meal Scheme) as a unified government nutrition program. The core offering is the cooked meal service covering primary and upper primary schools across 75 districts. The main technology product is the IVRS-Based Daily Monitoring System for real-time scheme oversight. Supporting services include centralized kitchen operations through Akshaypatra, kitchen infrastructure development (sheds and equipment), cook-cum-helper management, standardized weekly nutrition menus, training films (POSHANA), and audio awareness jingles. The MIS Login portal provides internal administrative access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PM POSHAN: Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman - the renamed national school meal program implemented by the authority

Products and services

• PM POSHAN (Mid Day Meal Scheme) Government-funded nutrition program providing free hot cooked meals to students in Classes 1-8 across 87,610 primary and 54,323 upper primary government/aided schools in Uttar Pradesh. Each meal is designed to provide 450 calories and 12g protein (primary) or 700 calories and 20g protein (upper primary).
• IVRS-Based Daily Monitoring System (DMS) Interactive Voice Response System that automatically places daily calls to Headmasters/Teachers/Shikshamitras at each school to capture the number of children receiving meals and flag schools where meals were not prepared, enabling real-time exception reporting.
• Akshaypatra Centralized Kitchen Service Centralized kitchen service operated by Akshaypatra Foundation in 12 urban districts of Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Kannauj, Ambedkar Nagar, Ghaziabad, Etawah, Prayagraj, Rampur, Ballia, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur) for hygienic preparation and delivery of cooked meals to schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.52 crore children covered across 1,41,933 schools in 75 districts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food Corporation of India (FCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodgrains (wheat/rice) are provided free of cost by the Government of India through the Food Corporation of India. FCI supplies foodgrains which are transported through government fair price shops to Gram Panchayats for use in the Mid Day Meal scheme.
• Akshaypatra FoundationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAkshaypatra Foundation operates centralized kitchens in 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Kannauj, Ambedkar Nagar, Ghaziabad, Etawah, Prayagraj, Rampur, Ballia, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur) to prepare and deliver nutritious cooked meals to schools. The foundation received ₹2.50 crore per district (₹12.50 crore total) for establishing centralized kitchens in 5 districts.
• UNICEFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF collaborated with the Mid Day Meal Authority for training of cook-cum-helpers on hygiene, safety and nutrition. A short film 'POSHANA' was developed with UNICEF support for training purposes.
• Basic Education Department, Government of Uttar PradeshcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Mid Day Meal Authority functions under the overall administrative and supervisory control of the Basic Education Department of Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. The department provides policy direction, funding coordination, and oversight for the scheme.
• Uttar Pradesh Food and Essential Commodities CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe corporation is represented in both the General Body and Management Committee of the Mid Day Meal Authority and is involved in the supply chain and food commodity management for the scheme.
• Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Uttar PradeshcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe department is represented in the General Body and Management Committee. Gram Panchayats are the primary implementers of the scheme in rural areas, responsible for food preparation in school kitchen sheds under their supervision.
• Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Uttar PradeshcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe department is represented in both the General Body and Management Committee of the authority. It is responsible for food safety standards, quality monitoring, and supply chain management of food commodities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Maharashtra State – Sharad Shiksha Abhiyan MDM Cell: Maharashtra's state implementation arm for PM POSHAN covering tens of thousands of schools. Comparable peer in scale and complexity, operating under a state education society model similar to UP's Mid Day Meal Authority.
• Karnataka Department of Public Instruction – Ksheera Bhagya / MDM: Karnataka state-level implementing body for PM POSHAN and complementary schemes (Ksheera Bhagya milk program). Functions as a state peer authority with comparable administrative mandate covering millions of school children.
• Annamrita Foundation (ISKCON Food Relief): ISKCON-affiliated NGO running mega centralized kitchens for school meal programs across India. Closely comparable to Akshaya Patra in operating model (centralized kitchen, B2G contracts) and is a potential implementation partner or competitor for PM POSHAN contracts in states other than UP.
• Akshaya Patra Foundation: India's largest NGO school meal operator running centralized kitchens across multiple states including 12 districts in UP under direct contract with Mid Day Meal Authority. Operates the same PM POSHAN scheme model at massive scale (~1.8 million children daily) and serves as both implementation partner and conceptual peer.
• Tamil Nadu School Education Department – Noon Meal Programme: Tamil Nadu operates the oldest state-run school meal program in India (since 1925) covering ~1 crore children. Functions as the closest state-level peer to UP MDM Authority in terms of scale, mandate, and centralized governance, though TN has historically been recognized as the most efficient state implementation.
• Rajasthan – School Education Department MDM Scheme: Rajasthan's state-level PM POSHAN implementation covering lakhs of government schools with comparable governance structure. Closest geographic and administrative peer to UP given similar rural demographics, scale, and operational challenges.

Broad incumbents

• Food Corporation of India (FCI): Central government agency that supplies free foodgrains to Mid Day Meal Authority under PM POSHAN. While not a direct operator of meal programs, FCI is the critical upstream input supplier and partner; comparable in being a state-affiliated food-distribution entity serving similar beneficiaries.
• World Food Programme (WFP) India: UN agency providing technical assistance and policy guidance on India's PM POSHAN scheme, including nutrition fortification pilots. Functions as a peer/incumbent in the broader school nutrition policy and funding ecosystem where UP MDM operates.
• Ministry of Education – PM POSHAN Division (Government of India): The central government division that designs policy, allocates budgets, and oversees the PM POSHAN scheme across all states. Effectively the apex authority that Mid Day Meal Authority reports to and is funded by; comparable as the umbrella governance body for the same program.

Emerging players

• ISKCON Food Relief Foundation: ISKCON's global charitable arm supporting food relief including school meal programs internationally. Relevant as a peer ecosystem player exploring expansion into government-contracted school meal delivery models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mid-day-meal-authority

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mid Day Meal Authority