Chicken Biryani Once a Week? Vijay's Tamil Nadu Govt Mulls School Menu Change

The Tamil Nadu government's school meal programme has evolved over decades, with every major government adding a new element to improve children's nutrition. It began with free meals introduced by the Justice Party, before K. Kamaraj expanded it into the Midday Meal Scheme. M. Karunanidhi added eggs, M. G. Ramachandran transformed it into the Nutritious Meal Scheme, and J. Jayalalithaa expanded egg distribution. Now, the C. Joseph Vijay government is considering its own addition, serving chicken biryani once a week in government schools. The proposal has been submitted to the Chief Minister, but no final decision has been taken. If approved, millions of students could soon have biryani as part of their weekly school meal.

School Education Minister A. Rajmohan announced the proposal on Wednesday, saying it has been formally submitted to the Chief Minister along with supporting data. He said the idea is aimed at making school meals more nutritious and appealing while continuing Tamil Nadu's long tradition of strengthening student welfare through better nutrition.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Rajmohan said every generation has improved the state's school meal programme, and he hopes the introduction of chicken biryani will become the next milestone. However, he clarified that the proposal is still under review and no implementation date has been fixed.

The minister also announced plans to revamp the school breakfast scheme. With the current allocation of around Rs 15 per student, the government plans to replace repetitive items such as wheat and rava upma with more nutritious and varied dishes.

The proposal comes as the state is already reviewing its school meal menu. Students currently receive dishes such as vegetable biryani, sambar rice, tomato rice, tamarind rice, lemon rice, spinach rice and black chickpea curry. Officials are looking at improving both the quality and variety of meals while keeping them nutritious and affordable. The breakfast scheme is also being expanded to cover students up to Class 8.

Tamil Nadu's school nutrition programme is among the largest in India, benefiting more than 40.8 lakh students. Under the Centre's PM POSHAN guidelines, states are free to decide their own menus based on local food habits, provided the prescribed nutritional standards are met.

Rajmohan also criticised the Union government, accusing it of withholding education funds over policy and language differences. He described spending on government schools as an investment in the state's future, saying any delay in releasing funds would affect students and was "entirely unacceptable."

The proposal has sparked debate over nutrition, cost and implementation. For now, however, no cabinet approval or government order has been issued, and weekly chicken biryani will be introduced only if Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay approves the proposal.