2 min readJun 26, 2026 06:10 AM IST First published on: Jun 26, 2026 at 06:10 AM ISTThe first budget of the Suvendu Adhikari government in West Bengal has drawn attention for two contrasting decisions on school nutrition. On the one hand, it has substantially increased the per-child allocation for mid-day meals, raising the material cost from Rs 6.78 to Rs 10, signalling a welcome recognition that better nutrition requires greater public investment. Yet the decision to hand the running of mid-day meals in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area to the religious organisationISKCON effectively excludes one of the staples from the menu — eggs. The defence by CM Adhikari — “You will get good food to eat. You will get pure food, nothing to worry about” — and by state education minister Dipak Burman — “There is no logic behind the idea that children must consume eggs, especially to fulfil their nutritional needs” — only exacerbates concerns. By imposing a vegetarian ideal in a culturally varied state, the move depletes the menu of one of the country’s most important welfare programmes.AdvertisementThe nutritional case for retaining eggs is compelling. The National Family Health Survey-6, released last month, shows that although stunting among children under five years has declined, nearly three out of every 10 children continue to be affected. West Bengal has long grappled with significant levels of child undernutrition and anaemia among both children and women. Eggs remain one of the most effective, economical and familiar sources of protein. The proposed substitutes — paneer, soyabean, rajma and pulses — undoubtedly have nutritional value, but ensuring their availability and acceptance at scale is far more complex.Food in India has long been bound up in questions of caste, religion, and social power. In the weeks before the watershed assembly elections in April, the BJP went to great lengths to reassure voters that Bengal’s culinary traditions would remain untouched under its stewardship. The removal of eggs from mid-day meals in schools — a template followed in several BJP-ruled states — sits uneasily alongside those assurances, particularly in a state where 98 per cent of people consume non-vegetarian food. The Adhikari government must reconsider its decision.