Ahmedabad: In a major revision to the state’s school nutrition programme, the Gujarat govt has discontinued the weekly serving of sukhdi that was provided to students along with the mid-day meal. The change will affect nearly 38.5 lakh students enrolled in around 32,230 govt schools across the state.Officials said the decision was taken under the Centre’s “Fit India” initiative, which stresses healthier dietary practices for children. A committee reviewing the state’s nutrition plan recommended reducing oil and fat intake, prompting govt to remove sukhdi — a traditional preparation made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee — from the weekly menu.Sukhdi had been introduced in March 2024 to boost the nutritional value of school meals, with provisions to serve it once every week. Later, in Nov 2024, govt launched the Mukhyamantri Poshan Alpahar Yojana, aimed at diversifying student nutrition. Under this scheme, additional snacks such as chana chaat and millet-based sukhdi were added to the mid-day meal programme.Under the revised plan, the new list of items includes moong chaat, vegetable poha, mixed pulses chaat, millet sukhdi and vegetable upma.According to officials, these changes aim to provide a more balanced nutritional profile while aligning with health and fitness guidelines.
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