<P> Under article 24, paragraph 2c of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a party, India has committed to providing "adequate nutritious foods" for children . The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995 . The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013 . The legal backing to the Indian school meal programme is similar to the legal backing provided in the US through the National School Lunch Act . </P> <P> The roots of the programme can be traced back to the pre-independence era, when a mid day meal programme was introduced in 1925 in Madras Corporation by the British administration . A mid day meal programme was introduced in the Union Territory of Puducherry by the French administration in 1930 . </P> <P> Initiatives by state governments to children began with their launch of a mid day meal programme in primary schools in the 1962--63 school year . Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in introducing mid day meal programmes in India to increase the number of kids coming to school; Thiru K. Kamaraj, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, introduced it first in Chennai and later extended it to all districts of Tamil Nadu . </P> <P> During 1982, July 1 onwards, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru . M.G. Ramachandran upgraded the existing Mid-day meal scheme in the state to' Nutritious food scheme' keeping in the mind that 68 lakh children suffer malnutrition . </P>

Who started first mid day meal in india