Puducherry government mulls providing fish with midday meals for schoolchildren
The Puducherry government is collaborating with the Marine Products Export Development Authority to introduce fish-based products into school midday meals. The pilot project aims to improve student nutrition and support the local marine economy.
Why it matters
It represents a policy effort to integrate local industry with public health initiatives in coastal regions.
The Puducherry administration is working in coordination with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to provide a variety of fish products to students of select government schools in the coastal areas of the Union Territory, along with their midday meal.
The plan was to procure locally available fish for preparing value-added products, including fish fingers and fish balls, to be served to students with their midday meal on alternate days. As a pilot project, the scheme would be launched in the Yanam region of the UT soon.
In this regard, Minister for Public Works and Fisheries Malladi Krishna Rao held preliminary discussions with the Chairman of MPEDA, P. Jawahar, when he visited Puducherry on Thursday (September 24, 2026).
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