Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has launched the fifth and largest phase of the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme at St. Joseph’s Primary School in Mylapore. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann attended the event as the chief guest and joined Mr. Stalin in serving breakfast to students.
Started as a small pilot project in 2022, the scheme has now grown to include most government primary schools across Tamil Nadu. With this new expansion, it now covers 2,430 urban government-aided primary schools, adding another 3.05 lakh students. In total, more than 20.59 lakh children across the state will now receive free, nutritious breakfast every morning.
Speaking at the event, MK Stalin said he felt “energetic like a child” after eating breakfast with the students. He called the program a “social investment” rather than an expense, adding, “No child in Tamil Nadu should come to school hungry again.”
The Chief Minister highlighted that the scheme has improved attendance, memory, learning ability, and overall health among children. He also pointed out that Tamil Nadu was the first to introduce such a program, even before countries like Canada.
State officials shared that around 88% of primary school students in government and aided schools now benefit from the scheme — over 90% in rural areas and about 85% in cities. Centralised kitchens prepare nutritious dishes like pongal, kichdi, or upma with dhal and sambar, which are delivered fresh to schools every morning.
Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin praised the scheme’s success and said it has become a model for other Indian states and even foreign countries.
