CHENNAI: C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government has proposed a new initiative for this year’s Children’s Day celebrations, planning to distribute 61.84 lakh packaged cake slices to school students across the State on November 14.

The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) has invited bids to procure 61,84,566 ready-to-eat sponge cake slices, each weighing up to 45 grams, for delivery to its operational godowns across Tamil Nadu by November 10. The proposed distribution marks a new addition to the State’s Children’s Day celebrations.

The procurement follows a reference from the School Education Department and will be processed through an expedited tender procedure to meet the deadline.

The proposed supplies will include fruit, vanilla, chocolate and butter or milk sponge cake variants. Each slice must be individually sealed in food-grade, moisture-resistant packaging carrying details such as ingredients, nutritional information, batch number, manufacturing date and expiry or best-before date.

Bidders must be established cake manufacturers or brand owners with valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licences and distribution networks covering all districts. They must also submit laboratory-backed shelf-life reports and product samples for technical evaluation.

The tender requires suppliers to replace defective, damaged, underweight or expired consignments within 24 hours at their own expense. Delayed deliveries will attract penalties, while failure to meet the deadline could lead to forfeiture of performance security and blacklisting proceedings.