| Indira Canteens (Karnataka) | |
| Type: | Government-Restaurant |
| Industry: | Food |
| Genre: | South Indian Vegetarian Cuisine |
| Foundation: | Bangalore, Karnataka, India. |
| Founder: | Siddaramaiah cabinet and Siddaramaiah [1] |
| Location City: | Bangalore |
| Area Served: | Karnataka |
| Products: | Food |
| Services: | Subsidized low cost food |
| Revenue: | Non-profit organization |
| Owner: | Ministry of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer affairs, Government of Karnataka |
| Parent: | Government of Karnataka |
| Footnotes: | named after Indira Gandhi |
| Homepage: | Indira Canteen |
| Native Name: | ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟಿನ್ |
| Location Country: | India |
Indira Canteen is a food subsidisation programme run by the Ministry of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer affairs, Government of Karnataka in Inspired from the Amma Unavagam of Tamilnadu.[2] It is named after Indira Gandhi, the first and only female Prime Minister of India.
Indira canteens slowly became defunct once the Congress party lost power in the state. Since it returned to power in 2023, there have been attempts and news of reviving the canteens [3]
The canteens are part funded from the state budget and partly from the budgets of the civic bodies. Earlier, the state government contributed 70% of the costs whereas now its share is likely to fall to 50% in Bengaluru.[4]
The canteens serving food in civic wards of districts and taluka places of Karnataka. The canteen serves breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Aimed at aiding economically disadvantaged sections of society at a subsidized price. [5] [6]
Idlis and coconut chutney along with variety rice of the day will be served in breakfast, for lunch and dinner, rice, sambar, curd rice, tomato bath, and a few other items will be served.
The largest number of canteens are in Bangalore, almost 200. A relatively up to date (as of November 2023) can be found on the Open City Data website.[7]