Puducherry government mulls providing fish with midday meals for schoolchildren

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).

Training for staff

Mr. Jawahar told The Hindu that his organisation would provide training to the women, who are employed in government schools for boiling milk and egg, in preparing value-added fish products. The authority could provide training to the women staff in processing fish fillet for making the dishes. The scheme could be implemented in select schools in the coastal areas.

“We had a preliminary discussion with the Minister on the matter. The School Education Department will take up the project further, after discussing the proposal with the School Management Committees in the territory,” he said.

Mr. Jawahar said he had met Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to explore ways in which the MPEDA could collaborate with the Puducherry government for the promotion of the UT’s fisheries sector. “The government is keen on working with MPEDA for the improvement of the UT’s marine economy and the livelihood of fishermen,” he added.