CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced the expansion of the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme to cover government and aided school students of classes 6 to 8 as well, fulfilling a key poll promise made by his party. The first phase of the expanded scheme will be launched on September 17, the birth anniversary of Periyar E V Ramasamy.
The announcement was made through a press release after the CM chaired a review meeting on the functioning of the social welfare and women empowerment department at the secretariat.
Social Welfare Minister K Jagadeeswari said the expansion would bring nearly 15 lakh additional students under the scheme. With this, the total number of beneficiaries is expected to rise to around 35 lakh from the present 20 lakh students studying in classes 1 to 5.
She said the government currently spends over Rs 600 crore annually on the scheme, and the expenditure is expected to increase to nearly Rs 1,000 crore per annum following the expansion.
Safeguards will be in place to prevent lapses: Minister
Jagadeeswari also asserted that there had been no leakages in the implementation of the scheme and that safeguards would continue to be in place to prevent any irregularities.
The breakfast scheme was launched in Madurai in September 2022 by the previous DMK government. It was subsequently expanded in phases, covering all students of Classes 1 to 5 in government schools by August 2023, government-aided schools in rural areas in July 2024, and extended to all government-aided schools in August 2025.
Officials also reviewed the implementation of welfare initiatives proposed under the TVK government’s ‘Vetri Thamizhagam’ vision document. The meeting included presentations on the functioning of the social welfare department, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and the department of children welfare and special services, according to the release.
