Chennai: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Tuesday announced he will take “immediate steps” to introduce Tamil Nadu’s “exemplary” breakfast scheme for school students in his state as he lauded the southern state’s initiative as “highly innovative”.
Mann was in Chennai to attend a ceremony to extend the M.K. Stalin dispensation’s breakfast scheme to all government-aided primary schools in Tamil Nadu. Mann said the Tamil Nadu government’s effort to provide nutritious breakfast in addition to the noon meal is “an inspiring model that strengthens both education and public health”.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader added that replicating such a scheme in Punjab would help improve enrolment, reduce dropouts and ensure children start their day at school with the necessary energy and focus.
“Tamil Nadu’s breakfast scheme is a highly innovative initiative. It serves as a model for the Union government and other states. We will take immediate steps to introduce this exemplary breakfast scheme in Punjab by discussing it in our cabinet.” Mann said, while addressing the gathering.
The Tamil Nadu breakfast scheme, first launched in 2022, was expanded Tuesday to cover all government-aided primary schools across the state. Last year, the scheme was expanded to government-aided primary schools in rural areas only.
The Tuesday ceremony was held at a government-aided primary school in Mylapore in Chennai.
Mann praised the DMK government for its welfare measures and said Punjab was committed to learning from successful social policies across the country.
“Seeing Tamil Nadu’s progress, one can truly feel that the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is a people’s leader. To every boy and girl here, this scheme is for you. The Dravidian Model government has implemented this for you, and you have the best chief minister working for you,” he said, addressing the students. When he asked, “Are you all happy”, the children responded with enthusiastic cheers of “Yes”.
Responding to Mann, Stalin said his words “fill my heart with joy and pride”. “I eagerly look forward to the day when it takes shape in Punjab.”
ਅੱਜ ਤਾਮਿਲਨਾਡੂ ਦੇ Mylapore ਵਿਖੇ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਸਕੂਲਾਂ 'ਚ CM Breakfast Scheme ਦੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂਆਤ ਮੌਕੇ ਰੱਖੇ ਸਮਾਗਮ 'ਚ ਮੁੱਖ ਮਹਿਮਾਨ ਦੇ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਸ਼ਿਰਕਤ ਕੀਤੀ। ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਬੈਠ ਕੇ ਨਾਸ਼ਤਾ ਕੀਤਾ।
ਬੱਚੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਦੇਸ਼ ਦਾ ਭਵਿੱਖ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਬਿਹਤਰ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਤਾਮਿਲਨਾਡੂ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ @mkstalin ਜੀ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾ… pic.twitter.com/DbHtnqEpeh
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) August 26, 2025
‘A social investment’
Addressing the gathering, Stalin said schools not only impart knowledge but also address the hunger of students.
“Renowned poet Valluvar said ‘a nation free from hunger, disease and enmity is the one that thrives’. Today’s event stands as a testament to Valluvar’s words,” Stalin said while addressing the children.
He also recalled the reason for launching the morning breakfast scheme in Tamil Nadu.
“The reason for initiating this scheme is that, a few days after assuming office, when I visited a girls’ school in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, I casually asked the students, ‘what did you eat for breakfast?’ To my surprise, many children said they hadn’t eaten anything. Some girls said they only had tea or ate a bun. Keeping this in mind, I announced the breakfast scheme as a government policy on September 15, 2022, on the birth anniversary of Peraringar Anna,” Stalin said.
In the first phase, 1.14 lakh students from 1,545 schools benefited from the scheme. Then, on 25 August 2023, the scheme was extended to all government primary schools. In 2024, the scheme was expanded to government-aided primary schools in rural areas. So far, 17 lakh students have benefited from this initiative.
Stalin said 20.5 lakh children are benefitting from the scheme now, and called it a social investment.
“This scheme is being implemented at a cost of Rs 600 crore per year. However, I don’t call this an expense. It is a remarkable social investment. This is an investment that will yield manifold returns for Tamil society in the future, beyond what we can imagine. The Tamil Nadu government is making this investment with faith in the talent, intelligence, and potential of our precious students,” Stalin said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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