Overview
- The state budget announced on June 22 increased mid-day meal material cost from Rs 6.78 to Rs 10 per student and contracted ISKCON/Annamrita to run a pilot for cooked meals in Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools.
- Because ISKCON operates vegetarian kitchens, the pilot will drop the once-weekly egg serving in covered schools and plan menus around paneer, rajma, soya, pulses and milk-based items, with menus to be finalised with nutrition experts.
- Opposition leaders have framed the change as an ideological attempt to impose vegetarian norms on Bengal’s food culture, and some teachers warn that removing egg days could reduce attendance because students currently look forward to them.
- The Mid-Day Meal Workers Federation of India has said centralised NGO kitchens risk privatising the scheme and could cost roughly 4,000 Kolkata cooks their jobs, while ISKCON and state ministers say the organisation follows government nutrition norms.
- Nutritionists cited in coverage note eggs are an affordable source of complete protein but say well-planned vegetarian alternatives can meet needs if menu design, monitoring and local acceptance are rigorously managed; the budget session will debate implementation next.