New fund portal delays Punjab midday meal cooking costs

The brief

Context

Punjab has shifted disbursal of centrally sponsored scheme funds to the Centre's new SNA-SPARSH digital fund-flow and cash-management portal, replacing the earlier Punjab Financial Management System (PFMS) route. Under PM-POSHAN (the midday meal scheme, funded 60:40 by Centre and state), teachers in government schools buy vegetables, spices, oil and fruits to cook hot meals for children from UKG to Class 8, while food grains come from government agencies. Earlier, cooking cost money was given to schools in advance and bills were checked at audit; now funds are reimbursed only after bills, preferably with GST, are uploaded on the portal. As a result, teachers say they have not received cooking costs for four to five months and are paying from their own pockets.

Key facts

• Punjab government school teachers have not received midday meal cooking costs for four to five months due to the transition to the SNA-SPARSH portal.
• PM-POSHAN is funded by the Centre and the state in a 60:40 ratio and covers students from UKG to Class 8.
• Cooking cost is Rs 6.78 per child per day for primary (UKG to Class 5) and Rs 10.17 for upper primary (Class 6 to 8).
• Punjab separately provides Rs 5 per child per week for seasonal fruits, typically bananas; teachers say bananas cost Rs 7-8 apiece.
• Education secretary Sonali Giri said the Government of India shifted Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and PM-POSHAN to SNA-SPARSH on August 14.
• Giri said Punjab received the midday meal sanction from GoI after August 15 and first bills must be cleared via the RBI route at GoI level.
• New instructions require bills, preferably with GST, uploaded on the portal for all goods before reimbursement.
• SNA-SPARSH stands for Samyochit Pranali Ekikrit Shighra Hastantaran / System for Payments and Reporting Across Sectors Holistically.

Timeline

1. Earlier (pre-transition)Funds released to schools in advance under the Punjab Financial Management System (PFMS); bills kept in schools and checked during audits.
2. August 14Government of India shifts Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and PM-POSHAN to the SNA-SPARSH portal, per education secretary Sonali Giri.
3. After August 15Punjab receives the midday meal sanction from the Government of India; first bills to be cleared via the RBI route at GoI level.
4. Present (four to five months of dues)Teachers await cooking cost; district education officer says budget has been received and money will be credited once bills are uploaded.

Who has a stake

• Government school teachers in Punjab — Paying for groceries, vegetables and fruits from their own pockets for four to five months and now burdened with uploading bills for every item.
• Students from UKG to Class 8 — Depend on hot cooked midday meals and weekly seasonal fruit; continuity is at risk if funds stay blocked.
• Punjab Education Department / secretary Sonali Giri — Must operationalise reimbursement under SNA-SPARSH and release pending cooking cost to schools.
• Government of India (Ministry running PM-POSHAN and SSA) — Owns the SNA-SPARSH reform for tracking Centrally Sponsored Scheme funds; first bill clearance goes through the RBI route.
• Small vendors and roadside fruit and vegetable sellers — Do not maintain bill books; may lose school purchases as schools seek billed, GST-compliant suppliers.
• District officials (nodal accountant Rahul Bakshi, district education officer) — Awaiting clearer instructions from Chandigarh on bills for fruits and vegetables before crediting funds.

Why it matters

A digital reform meant to make Centrally Sponsored Scheme funds traceable has, in practice, pushed the cost of a child nutrition programme onto individual teachers for months. When reimbursement depends on GST-style bills that rural vegetable and fruit sellers cannot issue, the design mismatch between formal accounting rules and the informal economy can disrupt daily meals for children.