Over 7 lakh girls between 11 to 14 years benefited by SAG: WCD

New Delhi: Over 7 lakh girls benefited by the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) under which supplementary nutrition is given to out-of-school girls from the age group of 11 to 14 years across the country, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

The SAG was introduced in 2010-11 on a pilot basis in 205 districts which was extended to additional 303 districts in 2017-18 and the remaining districts were covered from April 1, WCD Minister for State Virendra Kumar today said in a written response.

The scheme had two components of nutrition and non-nutrition. Under the nutrition component, each out-of-school adolescent girl of age 11-14 years is provided 600 calories, 18-20 grams of protein and micronutrients at Rs 9.5 per beneficiary per day for 30 days in a year.

The non-nutrition component had a built-in factor to motivate out-of-school girls to go back to formal schooling or skill development.