Trouble for poultry, dairy as lockdown keeps mid-day meal off the table

Although eggs are served in the southern and some eastern states under MDM, milk is a staple diet in the majority of states running the flagship scheme

With the Covid-19 lockdown delaying the reopening of schools, the domestic poultry and dairy sector is losing out on the robust supply of eggs and milk supplied for the mid-day meal (MDM) served to the students of government-run schools in India.

While, the conditional reopening of hotels and restaurants has so far provided little respite to the sector with the majority of people shying away from public places owing to safety concerns, the suspension of the MDM scheme has also delayed any notable recovery by the poultry and dairy units.

More than 100 million students and 1.1 million schools are