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Zomato + Swiggy = MDM
Zomato - ~18 lakh orders per day
Swiggy - < 20 lakh orders per day
MDM = 1180 lakh or 11.8 crore every day
Never heard about it? It's India's flagship scheme Mid Day Meal.
Recently, I had the privilege of witnessing the magic of the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme firsthand - the scheme has propelled India to achieve 100% enrolment at the elementary level, fulfilling the dual objectives of education and nutrition!
Let's dig down a little deeper.
Restaurants with Zomato + Swiggy - around 4.5 lakh
MDM - More than 8.5 lakh kitchens and stores
Delivery Partners: Zomato + Swiggy - around 7 lakh
MDM ~ 25.95 lakh cooks and helpers
Like Deepinder Goyal founded Foodiebay (which later became Zomato), we have K. Kamaraj as the "founder" of the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM).
One fateful day, in 1960s, Kamaraj encountered a young boy tending cattle in the sun-drenched fields of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Curious, he asked the boy why he wasn’t in school.
The boy’s answer was simple, "If I go to school, will you give me food to eat? I can only learn if I am fed." These words struck a chord deep within Kamaraj, sparking a vow to eradicate this hunger.
A few Madras municipality schools were already providing lunch to students at the time. In an interaction with Director of Public Instructions (DPI), Kamaraj noticed a curious pattern - In these schools, attendance soared from Monday to Friday but plummeted on Saturdays. Intrigued, he sought an explanation. The answer was startling, "Sir, on Saturdays, school is only half-day, so no lunch is provided."
This revelation was Kamaraj’s Eureka moment, marking the beginning of the Mid Day Meal Scheme!
Elevating MDM to its current stature was not without its trials - from the rich tapestry of India's dietary traditions and socio-cultural barriers to sweeping political and economic transformations. Yet, through it all, it endured and emerged as the remarkable program it is today.
In today’s world, we celebrate Zomato’s rising shares and Swiggy’s soaring valuations yet overlook the silent revolution of MDM, which has brought countless children back to the classroom. Perhaps it’s time we honor these quiet victories too!
