Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme - Part 1

(இதன் தமிழ் வடிவத்திற்கு இங்கே சொடுக்கவும்)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme

• Tamilnadu is the first state in India to launch a such program.
• It is the social welfare scheme of Tamil Nadu Government for School Students.
• On the birth date of Peraringnar Annna i.e., on 15-09-2022, Chief Minister Breakfast Scheme was officially launched at Madurai by the Tamil Nadu Government.

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Breakfast Scheme is known by many names in Tamil Nadu like "Stalin Breakfast Scheme" or "Morning Breakfast Scheme in Tamil Nadu" or "Tamil Nadu Breakfast Scheme".
• The Tamil Nadu government has introduced the Chief Ministers’ Breakfast Scheme for the first time in the state.
• As the most essential meal of the day, breakfast should never be neglected.
• It was stated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during an event announcing the program.
• Since children rush to get to school early in the morning, many children skip breakfast.
• Skipping breakfast makes youngsters weary, angry, and restless.
• Under the program, breakfast will be provided to pupils in classes I to V.
• The government has approved 33.56 billion rupees for the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme on July 27, 2020.
• In the first phase of this scheme, Government will supply breakfast to about 1,545 government primary schools.
• It will be resulting in around 1.14 million students receiving breakfast at school.

• This will give the most nutrient-dense breakfast to the elementary school children on school days.
• This scheme will be implemented through local bodies till it gets expanded and covers all of Tamil Nadu.
• During the current duration of his party-led administration, the school lunch program will be elevated to a higher level.
• Prepared meal consisting of 150–500 grams of breakfast with sambar and veggies is to be supplied to each and every kid.
• The government has also provided the breakfast menu for the five working days (Monday to Friday).

How has the idea evolved?

• The mid-day meal scheme in Tamil Nadu has a history of at least 100 years.

(a) Pre-independence

• It was in Chennai that the world’s first mid-day meal scheme was started back in 1920.
• In November 1920, the Madras Corporation Council approved a proposal for providing tiffin to the students of a Corporation School at Thousand Lights.
• It was provided at a cost not exceeding one anna per student per day.
• Author R Kannan, in his book ‘Anna: The Life and Times of C N Annadurai’, had called Theagaraya Chetty the father of mid-day meal program.
• Theagaraya Chetty, the then President of the Corporation and one of the stalwarts of the Justice Party, said the boys studying at the school were very poor.
• The scheme was later extended to four more schools and facilitated higher enrollment of students.

(b) Post-independence

• The concept saw a State wide application in 1956.
• The then CM K. Kamaraj decided to provide free noon meal to poor children in all primary schools across the State.
• It was launched at Ettayapuram (now part of Thoothukudi district), the birthplace of poet-freedom fighter Subramania Bharati in 1956.
• The Budget for 1956-57 contained a provision for supplying mid-day meals to schoolchildren for 200 days a year.
• This program was launched at madras in 1957.
• Initially it is covering 65,000 students in 1,300 feeding Centres.
• In July 1982, the then CM MG Ramachandran to extend the programme to children in the 2-5 age group in Anganwadis.
• He upgraded the existing midday meal scheme in the state to 'Nutritious noon-meal scheme’.
• It is also extended in the age group of 5-9 in primary schools in rural areas.
• Since September 1984, students of standards VI to X have been covered under the scheme.
• Then, in 1989, chief minister M. Karunanidhi introduced a nutritious meal plan.
• He introduced the provision of boiled eggs every fortnight, starting from June 1989.
• It is currently in operation and being enhanced.
• Subsequently, the scheme, now called Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Nutritious Meal Programme, was extended to the urban areas as well.
• During Jayalalithaa’s stint as Chief Minister (2011-16), variety meals were included in the menu in 2013, along with masala eggs as per the children’s choice.
• Similarly, this breakfast program in Tamil Nadu aims to provide students from affluent elementary schools with nutritional advantages.
• It is to increase children’s self-esteem and improve their health.

Mid-Day-Meal (MDM) Scheme

• The Mid-day Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India
• It is designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
• Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, India has committed to yielding “adequate nutritious food” for children.
• India ratified UNCRC on 11 December 1992.
• The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes.

Objectives of Breakfast Scheme

• The purpose of the session is to raise awareness of the significance of self-confidence among school children.
• It is educating school children on the importance of mental and physical health.
• It is bringing in such messages will not only make students aware but will also raise awareness throughout society.
• The goal of the program is to ensure that school children have a nutritious Breakfast.
• It will help them get off to a good start in the day.
• The state government has set aside an enormous budget of Rs 33.56 crores for the phase from 2022 to 2023.

• To encourage children to join school for study.
• To keep children out for suffering malnutrition.
• To improve the nutritional status of school going children are the objectives of this scheme.
• 13 Types of Food Items will be provided to students in breakfast.
• Chief Minister Breakfast Scheme of Tamil Nadu will be rolled out in phases.
• In first phase 1,54,108 students’ of 1969 schools will be covered under Tamil Nadu Breakfast Scheme.
• And in Second Phase, around 18,00,000 students of 30,122 Tamil Nadu Government Primary School will be covered.
• After deep analysis, Government of Tamil Nadu observes that the attendance in Government Schools of Tamil Nadu is increased by on average of 30 percent.

Eligibility

• The eligibility requirements needed to benefit from the Tamil Nadu CM breakfast scheme are:
• Students must be from Tamil Nadu state.
• Students must be studying from class 1st to class 5^th.
• The student must be from a government school.

Benefits of Scheme

• There are various advantages to the program, like Breakfast nourishes the child’s brain and general wellness.
• The scheme encourages children and also nourishes them.
• It will not feel hungry at school and will remain attentive throughout the day.
• The scheme provides initial benefits to approximately 1.25 lakh young people.
• This scheme would help eliminate the nutritional shortfall in elementary schools.
• It is helping particularly in metropolitan regions where children from disadvantaged backgrounds lack the required nutritious meals in the morning.
• More than 43,600 pupils in municipal corporations, more than 17,400 in municipalities, more than 42,800 in village panchayat boundaries, and more than 10,100 in rural and mountainous regions will benefit from the breakfast scheme.

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