Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was in Chennai on Tuesday to attend the extension of the “CM’s breakfast scheme” to government-aided schools throughout Tamil Nadu’s urban areas, stated that the Punjab government will think about implementing a breakfast program similar to that of Tamil Nadu.
In 2022, the government of Tamil Nadu announced its flagship scheme to give free breakfast to 300,000 pupils enrolled in government schools in classes 1–5. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the expansion, saying, “Starting today, 20.59 lakh (2.059 million) students enrolled in 37,416 government and government-aided primary schools will benefit from the chief minister’s breakfast scheme.”
“Education is important, but schools also need to address hunger.” After eating breakfast with the kids at a government-aided school in Mylapore, Chennai, Mann wrote on X, “The attention given to their nutrition along with good education is highly commendable.”
The CM’s breakfast program costs ₹600 crore a year. However, I won’t refer to this as an expense because it is a social investment. Stalin explained that well-fed children would do well in school and help the community flourish, so this investment will pay off many times over for Tamil society in the years to come.
According to state government studies, children’s health improved, hospital visits fell, attendance increased, learning results improved, hunger decreased, and infection incidence decreased between December 2023 and December 2024. The CM claimed that by guaranteeing that their kids have a healthy lunch at school, the program has also lessened the responsibilities on parents, particularly for working families.
Stalin expressed his eagerness to watch Punjab’s implementation of the plan. He stated, “He (Mann) said he would consider introducing a similar scheme in Punjab and hold discussions on it after witnessing its impact here.” Madurai hosted the scheme’s debut on September 15, 2022. 1,14,095 children and 1,545 schools benefited from the first phase. The DMK administration extended the program to all government primary schools on August 25, 2023, in Thirukkuvalai.
It was expanded to include government-aided schools in rural areas in 2024. 1.7 million children had benefited up to that point. Due to its success, it was extended to 2,429 urban government-aided schools on Tuesday.
An additional 306,000 children will benefit from this. 2.059 million pupils enrolled in 37,416 government and government-aided primary schools throughout Tamil Nadu will begin eating a freshly made, wholesome meal every morning before heading to class on Tuesday.