Mid-day meal benefits to continue without Aadhaar: Govt
Following criticism from Opposition for making Aadhaar number mandatory for students to avail mid-day meals, the government has said that the benefits will continue based on alternate means of identification. The schools will have to get the children enrolled under Aadhaar but until a number is assigned, the children will continue to get the benefits, it added.
No one will be deprived of benefits for the lack of Aadhaar card and people can use alternate means of identification, the government said. The statement comes in the wake of the recent notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) that said students will now have to provide their Aadhaar card number to get mid-day meals. The Opposition had slammed the move with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee saying this was tantamount to "snatching the rights of children".ALSO READ:Aadhaar card may become mandatory for online train ticket booking