The Delhi government has decided to delete images and data generated by the facial recognition system used in the Atal Canteen programme after 30 days to address privacy concerns. This decision was made during a meeting on April 9 and formalized in an order issued on April 16. The Atal Canteen scheme, launched on December 25 last year by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, aims to provide nutritious meals at a subsidised price of ₹5 to economically weaker sections. Currently, 74 canteens are operational, serving up to 500 people daily per meal. The facial recognition system is designed to prevent individuals from purchasing multiple meals at once and is managed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The server used for this system has a storage capacity of 5TB and is subject to data retention policies to ensure efficient operation and privacy. Additionally, the operating hours of the canteens have been adjusted to better accommodate daily wage earners, with lunch served from 10:30 AM to 2 PM and dinner from 6 PM to 9:30 PM.