Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday (April 15, 2026) inaugurated 62 rural Anna Canteens, taking the total number of such canteens in the State to 269, including 204 in urban and 65 in rural areas.

Launching the facilities at Dharanikota in Palnadu district, Mr. Naidu bought a ₹5 meal token and dined with the beneficiaries. He asked them about the taste, hygiene and quality of the food served at the canteen. More canteens would be opened soon, he said.

Mr. Naidu said true development could be achieved only when hunger was eradicated, and that development was meaningless if the poor could not afford a meal. The government had prioritised food security through the Anna Canteen initiative, he said.

He said former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, the late N.T. Rama Rao, had laid the foundation for food security with the ₹2-a-kg rice scheme, and that the present government was continuing the legacy.

He thanked the Akshaya Patra Foundation for ensuring a steady food supply, and said it had served billions of meals over the past 25 years. Meals at Anna Canteens, priced at ₹5, were helping daily-wage labourers, auto drivers and other low-income groups, he said.

Each canteen serves an average of 1,013 people a day at an operational cost of ₹26,250, officials said. Across the State, nearly 2.10 lakh people are served meals every day at a cost of over ₹54 lakh. The new rural canteens will add ₹18 lakh a day to the subsidy bill.

The Chief Minister said 8.80 crore meals had been served through Anna Canteens in the past 21 months, at a subsidy cost of ₹243 crore.

Palnadu district in-charge Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar, Narasaraopet Member of Parliament Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, MLA B. Praveen Kumar and District Collector Kritika Shukla attended the event, along with other officials and public representatives.