Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday launched the expansion of the breakfast scheme for school students here, serving them food and eating with them.
The expansion will benefit children studying in government-run and state-aided institutions across the state.
In a press release, authorities said about 15.30 lakh additional students in classes six to eight would benefit from the expansion, which covers 7,537 more schools.
Vijay launched the scheme at the Greater Chennai Corporation-run Gandhi Gramam Chennai Middle School in Thiruvanmiyur. He also visited classrooms and interacted with students.
An additional Rs 217.63 crore has been allocated in the current financial year to support the expansion, taking the total budget for the programme to Rs 724 crore.
Following the expansion, the breakfast scheme will now cover a total of 34.64 lakh students in 44,984 schools, both state-run and aided, from classes one to eight.
The menu comprises nutritious staples such as upma, khichdi and pongal, along with dhal and sambar, with millet-based options served twice a week.
After the CM launched the scheme here, ministers inaugurated it in their respective regions across the state.
The government said the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar (Great Leader Kamaraj) Breakfast Scheme, named after iconic Congress leader and former CM, aims to improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren and ensure they can focus on their studies without hunger.
K Kamaraj introduced the noon meal scheme in Tamil Nadu in 1956-57 to encourage children to attend school.
The origins of providing food to schoolchildren in the state can be traced to the Justice Party-led provincial government in the erstwhile Madras Presidency more than a century ago. The initiative began in a Chennai Corporation-run school.
The DMK regime led by M K Stalin launched the breakfast scheme in 2022, and it was gradually expanded to cover approximately 20.59 lakh students up to class five.
The expansion under the TVK-led government was originally planned to be rolled out on September 17 to mark the birth anniversary of reformist leader 'Periyar' E V Ramasamy. However, it was deferred due to CM Vijay's recent official visit to London to secure investments.
The expansion scheme will not be implemented in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts due to the enforcement of the Election Commission's Model Code of Conduct for the October 6 bypolls in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies, respectively.
In Chennai, the scheme will be implemented by the Greater Chennai Corporation through its integrated kitchens at 447 government and aided schools.
The Directorate of Municipal Administration will use integrated kitchens to implement the programme in other corporations, municipalities and adjoining town panchayat areas.
In rural areas and nearby township areas, the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Corporation, through Self-Help Groups, will implement the programme by cooking food on the premises of the respective schools.
The government said: "Integrating students' physical health, nutrition, school attendance, and learning, the expanded Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme-designed to further strengthen the foundation of school education-will serve as a great support for the educational journey of students and for social progress."
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.