Chief Minister Vijay announced on 22 Sep 2026 that the state’s breakfast program would be retitled the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme and would now serve every government and aided school child up to Class VIII, adding 15.30 lakh new pupils and an extra Rs 217.63 crore to the expenditure.
K. Kamaraj, the late Congress stalwart whose 1950s reforms expanded school education and introduced meal plans, has long been associated with Tamil Nadu’s school‑meal legacy. The original initiative, introduced by CM M. K. Stalin in 2022, covered primary students and later extended to aided schools; Vijay’s expansion marks the first time middle‑school children receive free breakfast.
TKS Elangovan, DMK spokesperson, blasted the renaming as a political ploy: "Their only job is to rename schemes we launched, they don’t do anything of their own," he told reporters, while NDTV’s Americai Narayanan defended the move, saying it honors Kamaraj’s pioneering work.
In a crowded schoolyard at Chennai’s Gandhi Gramam, a 12‑year‑old girl named Priya grinned as a tray of eggs and roti arrived, a sight she says keeps her focused for the rest of the day. Her mother, Selvi, added that the breakfast has cut her child’s missed‑class days by half.
The cabinet has approved the new budget allocation, and the rollout will begin with the upcoming academic year starting October 2026, as the state’s education department prepares the logistics for the expanded program.