Serving breakfast at Chennai school with Stalin, why Punjab CM Mann is studying Tamil Nadu’s approach

According to a government release, the expansion of the scheme covers 2,430 government-aided primary schools in towns and cities, benefiting 3.06 lakh students in classes 1 to 5. In total, the scheme now reaches 17.53 lakh children across 34,987 schools.

The programme was first announced in May 2022 in the Assembly and launched that September in Madurai on the birth anniversary of DMK founder C N Annadurai. Since then, it has widened steadily — in February 2023 to corporation and municipal schools, in August 2023 to all government schools, and in July 2024 to rural aided schools.

Evaluation studies cited by the state have shown gains in attendance and classroom attentiveness. Parents, particularly working mothers, have welcomed the relief from morning cooking and the improvements they see in children’s health and concentration.

‘Science-based’

At Tuesday’s event, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation director Soumya Swaminathan praised the scheme as “science-based and evidence-based”, noting its impact on health and learning. She suggested incorporating moringa leaf powder alongside the existing use of millets and vegetables to strengthen nutritional outcomes.

The programme’s effect on attendance was documented as early as 2023, when state planners compared beneficiary schools with neighbouring ones. Out of 1,543 schools studied, all but six saw a rise in attendance. In 1,319 schools, the increase was clear between mid-2022 and early 2023. In 1,086 schools, attendance rose by up to 20%. In 22 schools, it rose by more than 40%.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin with Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann during the inauguration of the expansion of ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’ to government-aided schools in urban areas across Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI08_26_2025_000052A)

In four districts — Tirupathur, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Tiruvarur — every school where the scheme was rolled out showed gains. Compared with 414 neighbouring schools within one to two kilometres, 77% of beneficiary schools registered a positive trend.

During the release of the study in 2023, the then finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said noon meals had been credited with boosting enrolment, and that “the study shows that the breakfast scheme is proving to be more important than lunch”.

Political tradition

The scheme also carries forward a political tradition in Tamil Nadu that has shaped its welfare state for half a century. The practice of promising food or goods dates back to the 1967 Assembly elections, when Annadurai pledged three seers (3.7 kg) of rice for Rs 1 to fight poverty and hunger. In the 1989 state polls, the DMK promised 5 kg of rice to all ration cardholders. In 2006, AIADMK offered Rs 2,000 cash assistance for families, while the DMK pledged colour televisions and two acres of farmland to farm labourers. The 2011 polls saw the DMK promise free laptops for students, along with a grinder or mixie and 35 kg of rice for every household, while the AIADMK promised free laptops for Class 11 and 12 students, a fan, a mixie, and 20 kg of rice.

After winning, late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa delivered the laptops and other items, but branded them “Amma” products. In 2016, the AIADMK went further, promising free mobile phones to all ration cardholders, 100 units of free power to households, and a cow and goat scheme for the poor. The DMK, notably, stayed away from such promises that year.

In the noon meal scheme, too, over time, both the DMK and AIADMK expanded on these commitments. Late DMK chief Karunanidhi added eggs to the noon meal in 1989, three eggs a week in 2007, and five by 2010, with bananas for vegetarians. Jayalalithaa later introduced “variety rice”.

Chennai: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann being greeted by students during his visit for inauguration of the expansion of Tamil Nadu’s ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’ to government-aided schools in urban areas across the state, in Chennai, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI08_26_2025_000060B)

To address quality concerns, the breakfast, noon meal schemes have now adopted two models — common “cloud kitchens” in cities, where automated cooking ensures uniformity, and self-help groups in villages, where parents themselves cook for the children. Meals cost about Rs 12.75 per student, with rotating menus of upma, pongal, semiya, and rava kesari.

At the Chennai event, Punjab Chief Minister Mann said that while the noon meal programme was valuable, “Working women still had to wake up two hours earlier to prepare breakfast. This (breakfast) programme removes that burden.”

The Tamil Nadu government has earmarked Rs 600.25 crore for the scheme in 2025–26. Evaluation data show not just attendance gains but reductions in morbidity, hospital admissions, and serious illnesses among primary school children.

Anaemia concerns

A deeper health concern is also likely to be behind the expansion of the breakfast scheme. Anaemia among Tamil Nadu’s children remains widespread. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, covering 2019–21) found that 57.8% of children aged 6–59 months were anaemic. More specific studies report prevalence rates above 50% among schoolchildren aged 5–14, with girls significantly worse affected. In western and southern districts, the figure exceeds 60% despite the school lunch scheme.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin with Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann serves food to students during the inauguration of the expansion of ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’ to government-aided schools in urban areas across Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI08_26_2025_000050B)

Researchers attribute the persistence to low dietary diversity. Children consuming fewer than four food groups daily were nearly three times more likely to be anaemic than peers with more varied diets. Other studies have highlighted deficits in vitamin A, zinc, and iron, pointing to the limits of rice-based meals. “Nutrition experts have found that locally available, nutrient-rich foods, when included in school meals, improved dietary diversity scores and children’s micronutrient status. Evidence also links diverse diets to improved cognition and academic outcomes, especially for children from food-insecure households,” a senior health official familiar with the execution of the school lunch scheme told The Indian Express.