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Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, 23 March, urged the central government to reinstate the mid-day meal scheme in schools, which was halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Making a mention of the same during the Zero Hour in Parliament, Gandhi asked the Centre to make hot and cooked food available for children under three years, pregnant women, and lactating mothers as well.
Children are the country's future, and they suffered the most during the COVID-19 pandemic since schools were amongst the first to shut down and last to reopen, she said. "They, along with their families, faced a lot of difficulties during the unprecedented times," the Congress leader stated.
She added that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-21, the percentage of underweight and malnourished children who were under five years of age had increased in comparison to the percentage in 2015-16.
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