Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has expanded the state’s free school breakfast programme, renamed the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme, to students in Classes 6 to 8. Launched on Tuesday at a government middle school in Gandhi Gramam, Thiruvanmiyur, the expansion will benefit about 15.3 lakh additional children across 15,454 government and government-aided schools. This brings the total to roughly 34.6 lakh students from Classes 1 to 8 receiving morning meals across nearly 45,000 schools, backed by an extra Rs 217.63 crore this financial year that raises the total budget to Rs 724 crore.
The menu features staples like upma, kichadi, and pongal, along with millet-based dishes twice a week. Implementation is divided among the Greater Chennai Corporation for 447 schools, municipal authorities for over 2,000 urban schools, and the state women’s development corporation with self-help groups for more than 12,800 rural schools.
Originally planned for September 17, the rollout was postponed due to the Chief Minister’s investment trip to London. The expansion is also temporarily excluded in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts due to the model code of conduct for the October 6 bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram. The scheme was first introduced under the previous DMK government and has now been renamed after former Chief Minister K Kamaraj by the TVK government.