|
President Droupadi Murmu will commemorate The Akshaya Patra Foundation's historic milestone of serving 5 billion cumulative meals to children across India and the completion of its 25 years of service to society as part of the Government of India's flagship PM POSHAN initiative, an official press release said.
The event is themed 'Suposhit and Sushikshit Bharat for Viksit Bharat', in support of the vision of building a New and Developed India through child nutrition and education. President Murmu will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest, and Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan will be the Guest of Honour. The event will be held in the august presence of Akshaya Patra's founders - Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman and Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, along with its Board of Trustees on March 17 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre (RBCC), New Delhi. Senior government officials, distinguished leaders, public policy think tanks, philanthropists, partners, supporters, and key stakeholders will attend the event. Some of the past beneficiaries of Akshaya Patra, students, parents, teachers and staff from government schools will also be present. The programme will highlight Akshaya Patra's sustained efforts to address classroom hunger and support children's education through nutritious mid-day meals since its inception in 2000. The Foundation currently provides nutritious mid-day meals to over 2.35 million children across 16 States and 3 Union Territories of India. As the implementing partner of the Government of India's PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (Mid-Day Meal Scheme), the Foundation provides hot, nutritious and tasty mid-day meals to children in government and government-aided schools every day to support their nutrition and education. In partnership with the Government of India, various state governments and UT administrations, and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, the Foundation has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 schoolchildren across five schools to becoming one of the largest (not-for-profit run) school feeding programme in the world, serving wholesome food to over 2.25 million children from 23,000+ schools across 17 States and 3 Union Territories in India. Akshaya Patra continuously forges partnerships and leverages technology to cater to millions of children and has served over 4 billion meals since 2000. The momentous milestone was commemorated at a special event at the UN headquarters in New York on April 2 2024. (ANI)
|
