The centrally sponsored Mid Day Meal Scheme providing cooked meals to school children was launched by the Union Ministry of which department?

Introduction / Context:
This question is from social sector schemes in India and tests your knowledge about the Mid Day Meal Scheme. The scheme is a major intervention for improving school attendance, nutritional status, and learning outcomes of children. Knowing which ministry launched and implemented such flagship programmes is important for general studies and government scheme related questions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The scheme in focus is the Mid Day Meal Scheme for school children.
• We are asked about the Union Ministry that launched the scheme.
• Options include ministries dealing with home affairs, social welfare, human resources, rural development, and women and child development.

Concept / Approach:
The Mid Day Meal Scheme aims to provide cooked meals to children in primary and upper primary schools to encourage enrolment, retention, and to address classroom hunger. Education is the primary channel through which the scheme operates, even though nutrition is a major component. Therefore, the main nodal ministry is the one dealing with school education, which was earlier known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development at the Union level.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the scheme operates through government and government aided schools.Step 2: Recognise that school education comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development at the central level, now known as the Ministry of Education.Step 3: Although nutrition and child development are related to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, this particular scheme is routed through the education system.Step 4: Therefore, the launching and nodal authority is the Ministry of Human Resource Development.Step 5: Select the option mentioning the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Verification / Alternative Check:
You can cross check by remembering that Mid Day Meal Scheme guidelines are usually discussed along with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education framework. Both are clearly linked to the education ministry. Also, budgets for mid day meals are often shown under education related demands for grants, which confirms that the scheme is handled by the education ministry rather than home affairs or rural development.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The Ministry of Home Affairs mainly deals with internal security, law and order, and administration of union territories. The Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Child Development handle welfare schemes but not this particular school meal programme. The Ministry of Rural Development focuses on livelihoods and infrastructure in rural areas, not school based nutrition schemes. Hence none of these are the primary nodal ministry for the Mid Day Meal Scheme.

Common Pitfalls:
Many candidates mistakenly associate the scheme with the Ministry of Women and Child Development because it has a strong nutrition component and uses terms like malnutrition and child welfare. However, the operational base of the programme is schools, not anganwadi centres, which are under ICDS. Always differentiate between school based schemes (education ministry) and early childhood or anganwadi based schemes (women and child development ministry).

Final Answer:
The Mid Day Meal Scheme for school children was launched and is implemented by the Ministry of Human Resource Development at the Union level.