TN breakfast scheme: Over 20 lakh students to benefit, says CM Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Sunday (August 24) said that after the expansion of the Chief Minister's Breakfast scheme on August 26, over 20 lakh school students will benefit from the initiative that is aimed at ensuring growth.

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The scheme is now being expanded to government and aided primary schools in urban areas across Tamil Nadu.

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Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be present during the expansion of the scheme on Wednesday.

In a social media post, Stalin said the scheme will now benefit 20.59 lakh schoolchildren.

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"From the days of Justice Party to the Dravidian Model government, we have provided food to the children to address hunger and give them education. This is not mere food, but a foundation for growth," he said.

The government's "pioneering work" setting an example to the country will continue and Tamil Nadu will grow forever, the CM added.

Stalin recalled, separately in a letter to party members, how Tamil Nadu had pioneered such an initiative when late CM K Kamaraj introduced the noon meal scheme.

Scheme launched in 2022

Later, CM M G Ramachandran (MGR) upgraded it to nutritious meal scheme.

Years later, the DMK government under late M Karunanidhi added egg to the meals of students, Stalin said.

The Tamil Nadu government had earlier said that over 3.5 lakh students studying in government and aided primary schools in urban areas across the state will benefit from the expansion of the breakfast scheme.

The flagship programme was inaugurated on September 15, 2022, for government school students, for the first time in India, when Stalin served breakfast to students at Adhimoolam Corporation Primary School in Madurai.

Following an overwhelming response to the scheme from parents and students, the scheme was expanded on August 25, 2023, in Thirukuvalai in Nagapattinam district, the birthplace of late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, benefitting 18.5 lakh students of 30,992 schools.

It was further expanded on July 15, 2024, for the benefit of 2.23 lakh students studying in 3,995 government-aided primary schools.