Centre plans community kitchens to hold back migrant workers at MSME hubs

Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, the textile processing clusters in Surat, Gujarat, and the glass manufacturing cluster in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.This assumes significance given that the MSME sector contributes about 30.1% to India’s GDP and accounts for 35.4% of its manufacturing output and nearly 45% of the country's export.“The plan is to extend community kitchen services, which are already in operation in several states, to the manufacturing clusters. It may also include setting up new community kitchens with the cooperation of state governments, as well as industry and social groups,” said the second person, adding that it would be initiated with the provision of three meals a day.Queries sent on Wednesday to the spokespersons of the ministries of finance and MSME remained unanswered until press time.To be sure, several states run subsidized community kitchen or low-cost meal schemes for workers and the urban poor.

Tamil Nadu operates the ‘Amma Unavagam’, while Karnataka runs ‘Indira Canteens’, offering meals at nominal rates. Odisha has ‘Aahar Centres’ and Andhra Pradesh runs the ‘Anna Canteen’ scheme.

Madhya Pradesh provides meals under ‘Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Yojana’, while Maharashtra operates the ‘Shiv Bhojan Thali’. Rajasthan also runs a similar initiative through the ‘Jan Aahar Yojana’.These state schemes are mainly operational in cities, and provide a meal for ₹5–10, supporting migrant workers and low-income groups.Hailing the move, industry leaders said it is a well thought-out step to ensure availability of workers at India's manufacturing clusters.“If the government is considering a proposal to provide food to workers at affordable rates at the manufacturing clusters, it will certainly help the industry and