Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme: TN govt sets tender norms for menu, calorie and delivery

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has issued tender guidelines for agencies participating in the bid process to supply free breakfast under the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme for the next three years.

The scheme mandates that school students must be served one item from a list of 13 approved breakfast dishes every day, as reported by Daily Thanthi.

The free breakfast scheme is currently implemented for students of Classes 1 to 6 studying in government and government-aided schools across the state.

What are the tender conditions for free breakfast scheme?

The tender conditions are as follows:

• Students should be served one of the 13 approved breakfast items, such as rava upma with sambar.

• The meal should weigh between 150 and 200 grams and provide 294 kilocalories.

• The government has directed that hot food, transported in insulated hot boxes, be delivered to schools by 7.30 am.

• The quality of the food will be monitored by Food Safety Department officials and through third-party inspections.

• Each month, the contractor would be paid only after receiving the headmaster's certificate.

Free breakfast menu and expenditure details

Under the scheme, students are served upma, khichdi, or pongal on weekdays, while rava kesari or semiya kesari is served on Fridays. Locally available millets are featured on the menu at least twice a week.

The government spends over Rs 12.71 per child per breakfast.

Free breakfast scheme expansion plans

After pioneering the initiative to provide free meal to ensure that children were sent to school by parents, which later became a model for the country and the world, late chief minister K Kamaraj finally got due credit after the TVK government last week decided to name the free breakfast scheme after the Congress leader.

The government also announced that the expansion of the scheme to include students of Classes 7 and 8 will be launched on September 17. Incidentally, the government order was dated July 15, Kamaraj’s birth anniversary, and the expansion will be launched on September 17, the birth anniversary of Dravidian icon Periyar EV Ramasamy.

This is also considered to be a deft political move by the alliance leader TVK, as the move would endear itself with the Congress, a key constituent in the ruling coalition.

The expansion of Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme will benefit 15,14,274 students studying in 15,454 government schools across the State. The government has allocated Rs 217.63 crore for the expansion, as per the government order.

(With inputs from Bureau)