With Rajasthan set to go to polls in a few months, the Congress-led government has decided to extend the Indira Rasoi scheme to rural parts of the state. Subsidised schemes have been a major part of the welfare push of several other state governments. But, a major worry for these parties this year will be food inflation that, according to a report from rating firm Crisil, caused the price of vegetarian thalis to rise more than non-vegetarian thalis (24% compared to 13%) in August compared to the corresponding month last year. However, the cost of a household thali meal declined marginally on a month-on-month basis. Indira Rasoi, Rajasthan In 2016, the BJP government of Vasundhara Raje first provided low-cost meals. Special vans with the slogan “Sabke liye bhojan, sabke liye sammaan (Food and respect for all)” delivered food across the state. Gehlot stopped the scheme after taking over in December 2018. In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was underway, he launched Indira Rasoi. At present, over 800 NGOs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are in charge of providing the meals, priced at Rs 17, all seven days a week. Menu: Dal (100 gms), Vegetable (100 gms), roti (250 gms), and pickles. Expenditure: As many as 15.38 crore thalis have been served to date, according to Naresh Goyal, the nodal officer for the scheme. The government provides a one-time amount of Rs 5 lakh per kitchen for infrastructure, Rs 3 lakh per kitchen annually for recurring infrastructure, and Rs 50,000 as an annual advance for day-to-day functioning. The rest of the expenses are borne by the NGOs or SHGs running the kitchens. In 2020, the scheme’s annual budget was Rs 100 crore, now it is Rs 700 crore. Aahaar, Odisha Launched in April 2015, the scheme currently operates through 167 Aahar centres, 82 of which are within hospital premises. Almost all 114 civic bodies in Odisha have Aahaar centres. The meals are priced at Rs 5 and are provided from Monday to Saturday. Menu: Rice, dalma (lentils cooked with vegetables), and pickles. Expenditure: One lakh meals are served daily, officials estimate. Officials say that the Odisha State Aahaar Society (OSAS), which administers the scheme and comes under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, spends Rs 70 crore annually. Funds for the scheme are obtained from the CM’s relief fund and corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund of various public sector undertakings, and a few corporate houses. Each plate costs Rs 23 to make, with OSAS bearing Rs 18 and the beneficiaries paying the rest. Amma canteen, Tamil Nadu In 2013, then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced that the government would set up a chain of highly subsidised restaurants across the state. While there has been a significant drop in their number in rural areas, there has been a scaling up in Chennai. The city has 400 Amma canteens with an estimated staff of 3,000. Menu: There are three options — idli meals are provided at Re 1; chapati meals for Rs 3, and pongal, sambar, curd rice or other rice varieties are priced at Rs 5. Expenditure: In 2022-’23, the Greater Chennai Corporation allocated Rs 4.85 crore for the scheme. The 200 canteens in the city sell 2.5 lakh idlis, about 50,000 plates of pongal, more than one lakh plates of rice every day, said officials. Shiv Bhojan Thali, Maharashtra The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Uddhav Thackeray launched the scheme in January 2020. Maharashtra has a total of 1,768 eateries The scheme stirred controversy last year when the Shiv-Sena BJP government alleged malpractices in its operation. Menu: Two chapatis, vegetables, rice, and dal. Expenditure: On average 1.75 to 1.76 lakh meals are served daily. In urban areas, the actual cost of a thali is Rs 50 while it is Rs 35 in rural areas. It is sold by canteens for Rs 10, with the government bearing the rest. The scheme’s overall Budget for the past financial year (2022-’23) was Rs 176 crore. For the ongoing financial year, the budgetary provision is Rs 220 crore. Indira canteens, Karnataka The Siddaramaiah government started the programme in 2017. Bengaluru alone has 185 Indira canteens. The scheme covers breakfast costing Rs 5, and lunch and dinner priced at Rs 10. Menu: Breakfast — Idli or Puliyogare, Kharabath, Pongal, Rava Kichadi, Lemon Rice, Vangibath, Kesari Bath depending on the day of the week. Lunch and Dinner — Rice, sambar, curd rice, tomato bath, lemon rice, bisi bele bath, methi pulao, and puliyogare, depending on the day. Expenditure: On average, 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh people eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner daily. The government pays about Rs 60 (excluding GST) to the service provider for three meals. Seventy per cent of the funds are provided by the state government, while 30% is borne by civic bodies. The government has allotted Rs 100 crore for the scheme. In a recent Cabinet meeting, the current Siddaramaiah government decided that the meal service provider would receive Rs 62. The government has allocated Rs 100 crore for it. Annapurna Canteens, Telangana The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of K Chandrashekar Rao launched the scheme in 2014 in Hyderabad. From eight, the number of canteens has expanded to 150 and these thalis are priced at Rs 5. The government runs the scheme in collaboration with the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation, which also supplies the meals. Up to 45,000 meals are served daily. Menu: Rice (approximately 400 gms), dal (100 gms), a curry, and pickles. Expenditure: The state government bears the full cost of the plate, whose production cost is Rs 24. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) allocated Rs 25 crore in the 2023-’24 financial year. The government has spent over Rs 200 crore so far. Atal Kisan Mazdoor Canteens, Haryana The government launched it in 2020. The scheme is currently operational in the districts of Sirsa, Karnal, Fatehabad, Rewari, Rohtak, and Kurukshetra. The prices vary from season to season. From September 15 to November 30 and from March 15 to May 30, which are farming seasons, the rate of the vegetarian thali is Rs 10 (dine-in) and Rs 15 (take-away). During the other months, thalis cost Rs 20 (dine-in) and Rs 25 (take-away). Menu: Chapati, dal, vegetables; poori-kheer on Tuesdays, and poori-chane on Thursdays. Expenditure: As per agriculture department officials, goods worth around the canteens receive Rs 6 lakh annually. On average, more than 200 to 300 people eat in each canteen daily. Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB), banks, and NGOs provide cooking items to the SHGs that operate the canteens. — With inputs from Hamza Khan in Jaipur, Sujit Bisoyi in Bhubaneshwar, Arun Janardhanan in Chennai, Alok Deshpande in Mumbai, Sreenivas Janyala in Hyderabad, Kiran Parashar in Bengaluru, and Varinder Bhatia in Chandigarh
