Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has expanded the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme to students studying in Classes 6 to 8, significantly widening the reach of the state's free morning meal programme.
The expansion, launched in Chennai on September 22, 2026, is expected to bring nearly 15.30 lakh additional students under the scheme. It covers 15,454 government and government-aided schools across Tamil Nadu. Vijay launched the expanded programme at a government middle school in Gandhi Gramam, Thiruvanmiyur, where he served breakfast to students and joined them for the meal.
The programme previously focused on students from Classes 1 to 5. Extending it to Classes 6, 7 and 8 means participating schools can now provide free breakfast to children from Classes 1 through 8. The government has allocated an additional Rs 217.63 crore for the expansion during the current financial year.
The initiative was originally launched in 2022 during the previous MK Stalin-led government as the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme. It began with primary-school students and was later expanded to cover more government and government-aided schools. The present government has retained the programme, widened its coverage and renamed it after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamaraj.
The name change has also become part of a wider political debate over the legacy of welfare programmes introduced by successive Tamil Nadu governments. Supporters of the current government have emphasised the expansion of the programme, while DMK representatives have criticised the decision to rename a scheme launched during Stalin's tenure. The underlying breakfast programme, however, continues with substantially wider student coverage.
Tamil Nadu free breakfast scheme widens school meal coverage
The expansion reflects Tamil Nadu's long-standing use of school meal programmes as part of its education and welfare policies. The breakfast scheme is intended to ensure that children begin the school day with a meal, particularly benefiting students from households where access to regular morning nutrition may be limited.
Providing breakfast at school is also intended to support attendance, nutrition and students' ability to participate in classroom activities. The latest expansion brings middle-school children into the programme rather than restricting it to primary grades.
The Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme also carries historical significance because Kamaraj is closely associated with the expansion of school education and meal programmes in Tamil Nadu. Over several decades, successive state governments have modified and expanded school nutrition initiatives.
With the addition of Classes 6 to 8, the latest rollout represents another expansion of that system. Around 15.30 lakh additional students are expected to benefit across 15,454 eligible schools, according to reports published following the launch.
For students and families, the most immediate change is broader access to free breakfast. For the state government, the programme represents a continuation of an existing welfare initiative while increasing its reach and placing it under the Kamaraj name.
