Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal has asked the Petroleum Ministry to consider providing subsidised cooking gas (LPG) cylinders for Mid-Day Meal Scheme for at least the current financial year.

Mr. Sibal said that the Petroleum Ministry's decision to put a cap of six on the number of subsidised LPG cylinders per year would put a massive financial burden on the education department as they would have purchase additional LPG cylinders at market rates.

In a letter written to Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy, Mr. Sibal said, "It might be preferable at this point to provide for subsidy as earlier for the LPG cylinders, instead of seeking approval for an increase in cooking cost which would necessitate revisiting allocation for the Mid-Day Meals Scheme."

As per the Union Human Resource Ministry's estimates, buying extra LPG cylinders at market rates would cost additional Rs. 653 crore this year. In case the subsidy is withdrawn, the Government at the Centre would have to compensate the State Governments for the additional cooking fuel cost.

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the biggest government-run school feeding scheme in the world. It was implemented in government schools with an aim to improve nutrition intake in children. Currently, the scheme is catering to twelve crore children in more than 12.65 lakh schools across India.

The Union Human Resource Minister suggested that the Petroleum Ministry could revisit its decision on whether to make an exception for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme at the time of finalizing Budget for the next financial year.