The government of India's West Bengal state plans to remove eggs from free school lunch menus in some government schools, replacing them with vegetarian alternatives. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Under a pilot project, meal preparation for schools run by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation will be handed to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). An ISKCON official said meals will be prepared by the Annamitra Foundation, which serves only vegetarian food, replacing eggs with other protein sources.
The project has not yet begun and it is unclear whether it will be expanded to other schools. ISKCON told the BBC that discussions were still under way and nothing had been finalised.
Nutrition campaigners say eggs are among the cheapest and most effective sources of protein for children, especially those from poorer households. Attempts by several state governments, many led by the BJP, to replace or limit eggs in school meals have repeatedly sparked controversy.
Critics say governments are letting religious or ideological beliefs dictate nutrition policy by removing eggs. Supporters argue that carefully planned vegetarian meals can provide the same nutrients.
The opposition All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which ruled West Bengal until May, has accused the newly elected BJP government of trying to "impose vegetarianism" on schoolchildren.
Some politicians and activists have proposed a middle path: let students choose between eggs and a vegetarian alternative.
Eggs have long been considered one of the cheapest and most efficient sources of high-quality protein in India. They usually cost around eight rupees ($0.08; £0.06) each and have been part of Bengal's food culture for generations.
Defending the decision, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the project was aimed at providing students with "good and pure food". "You don't have to say Hare Krishna [the movement's devotional chant]. No one will force you," he said, rejecting criticism that the move was driven by the BJP's Hindu nationalist ideology.
Iskcon says the criticism is misplaced. Through the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which it founded, it provides school meals to about one million students across 16 states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and parts of Delhi.
Radharaman Das, Iskcon's Kolkata vice-president until last week, told local media that the organisation takes special care to ensure its meals are nutritious and hygienic. He said the vegetarian menu would provide enough protein and vitamins to match the nutritional value of eggs. Das has since been removed from his organisational posts, although Iskcon has not publicly explained the decision.
The row has also renewed focus on India's school meal scheme. Launched nationwide in 1995, and rooted in a school feeding programme begun in Madras (now Chennai) in 1925, it has grown into one of the world's largest, serving more than 110 million children.
The federal government sets calorie and protein targets, but states decide how to meet them. As a result, there is no single national menu, and meals vary across the country.
In Bihar, children are typically served rice with pulses or chickpeas, plus an egg once a week. In Tamil Nadu, school lunches often include rice, sambar (lentil-vegetable stew), vegetables and eggs. Other states serve only vegetarian meals. In Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, menus usually feature rice- or wheat-based dishes with pulses and vegetables, sometimes accompanied by milk, paneer (cottage cheese) or fruit.
In many government schools, they are cooked on site by dedicated staff. Elsewhere, state governments contract non-profit organisations to prepare and distribute meals that meet prescribed nutritional standards and state menus.
For nearly a decade, students in Kolkata's government schools have been served an egg on some days of the week, alongside rice, pulses and vegetables. Now, that could change.