Aug 1 date for Iskcon midday meal rollout in Kolkata
Times of India | 14 July 2026
Kolkata: Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that Iskcon will start serving cooked mid-day meals across state-run schools in the city from Aug 1.
Adhikari attended a review meeting at the education dept, which was attended by school education minister Dipak Barman, higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay, and other officials from both the departments, alongside senior officials from the Union education ministry.
After the meeting, Adhikari told the media, “The fund allocation under the midday meal scheme for primary sections has been increased to Rs 10 from the existing Rs 6.78, which will be implemented from Aug 1. Iskcon will start serving midday meals to schools across the larger part of Kolkata from Aug 1. They will also provide a subsidy. The food will be of very high quality.” Preempting media questions regarding the inclusion of eggs, he added, “You keep discussing eggs and Iskcon for the next few days. I will share the rest in details on Aug 1.”
Later, he posted on his X handle: “Keeping in mind the health of our next generation, under the PM POSHAN scheme, the daily cooking cost for pre-primary and primary level students has been increased from Rs 6.78 to Rs 10. The state will bear this additional Rs 3.22. This will also take effect from Aug 1.”
On June 22, state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta, during his budget speech, declared that the material cost per child at the primary level would be enhanced to Rs 10 from Rs 6.78. He also announced that Iskcon would be engaged to provide cooked mid-day meals to schools under the KMC.
However, a controversy erupted after Iskcon made it clear that while they would provide nutritious cooked midday meals, eggs would not be on the menu. Instead, eggs will be replaced by soya, rajma, paneer, and other vegetarian alternatives. Apart from triggering a veg versus non-veg debate, this decision also raised serious concerns among the cook-cum-helpers working with self-help groups. Around 5,500, mostly women, are engaged in this work in Kolkata. Nevertheless, no final decision or formal announcement has yet been made and the existing self-help groups continue to serve the meals.
A senior official from the school education dept hinted at the future plan, saying, “The new arrangement will not leave them jobless.”
Sukanta Majumdar, Union minister of state for education, said, “Today, during our discussion with the school education dept, we learnt that our funds were exhausted, and fresh funds are expected by today or tomorrow.”
Adhikari stated that midday meals across schools will now be cooked on gas ovens, and schools will be provided with arsenic-free pure drinking water. The meals will be served in disinfected utensils, and proper hygiene will be maintained. Furthermore, fans will be installed in schools within the Rarh region and sanitary pad-vending machines will be installed across all girls’ schools.
Adhikari added that state-run schools will soon receive the composite grant that they had been deprived of for the last three years. “We have set a target of 81,000 schools.”