Bangalore, Karnataka, India, August 6, 2008 (PRESSbooth.ORG) -- The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world’s largest NGO run school meal program which currently feeds over 9.4 lakh children across the country every day, has found one more supporter in the form of Corporation Bank which has donated Rs 12 lakh to the cause. The donation comes at a time when the bank has touched Rs one lakh crore mark in business and also opened its 1000 and 1001st Branch. Water resource Minister Mr. Basavaraj Bommai handed over the Cheque to Shri. Sridham Krishna Das and Shri. Karunya Sagar Das of Akshaya Patra. Mr P Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister was also present during the occasion.

Commenting on the addition of another major corporate sponsor to its growing list of stakeholders, Shri Madhu Pandita Das said, “With the addition of every new sponsor, more and more needy children are being enabled to learn even as they are fed at least one wholesome meal a day. Thanks to institutions such as the Corporation Bank that our goal to feed one million children by the end of this decade is getting much closer.”

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Samba Murthy, Chairman and Managing Director,Corporation Bank said, “We are happy to support Akshaya Patra which is doing noble work for the welfare of the state and the people. Ours is a small gesture which we hope will prompt many others to do the same.”

Akshaya Patra Foundation: Unlimited Food for Education
(National Level School Meal Programme)
According to a UNESCO report, around 13.5 million children in the age group of 6-13 years are out of school in India . Despite the trillion-dollar economic growth, a large chunk of India ’s younger generation does not have access to schools because of poverty and malnutrition.

To facilitate the education of needy children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, provides unlimited noon meals in schools in partnership with the Central and respective state governments of India . Currently the program is feeding 9, 40,000 children in over 4,500 government, government aided schools and anganwadis (day care centers) in 14 locations across India on any given day.

They are Bangalore , Hubli-Dharwad, Bellary , Mangalore and Mysore in Karnataka, Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh, Jaipur, Nathdwara and Baran in Raj asthan, Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Puri and Nayagarh in Orissa and Gandhinagar in Gujarat . This is the largest NGO run School Meal program in the world.

What makes Akshaya Patra unique?
1. The Akshaya Patra program uses centralized, automated kitchens for cooking food which is then distributed to schools through special purpose vehicles. 2. Akshaya Patra’s kitchens can cook about 100,000 meals in less than five hours with least human intervention and sustained quality. 3. A three item menu is served to children as per the recommendations of qualified nutritionists. 4. Due to extensive mechanization of the kitchen, the program is able to offer children standardized, high quality, hygienic meals. 5. The program also offers education and health interventions for holistic child development. 6. Akshaya Patra is a secular, not-for-profit program implemented only in government schools where there is no discrimination whatsoever. 7. The program is independently governed by a Board of Trustees & audited by KPMG. 8. A study in the year 2006 by AC Nielsen Org Marg Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, has vouchsafed for the efficacy of the program in increasing attendance in schools, improving nutritional status of these children, enhancing their learning abilities and reducing drop out rates. 9. Akshaya Patra program is run with part subsidies from the government, besides financial support from corporates and individual philanthropists. 10. All contributions to The Akshaya Patra Foundation are eligible for 100% tax deduction under section 35AC/80GGA (bb) of the Income Tax Act 1961 in India . 11. With a vision to ensure that no child in India is deprived of education because of hunger, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is striving to end hunger and create a human resources pool that will propel India into the league of developed nations.

*Education For ALL Global Monitoring Report 2007, UNESCO

Contact:
The Akshaya Patra Foundation
K2 Communications
Rajani R
Ph: 080 - 23578622/ 23471956 Ext: 369
rajani @ akshayapatra.org

Sumit jain
Ph- 080-23337344
Sumit.jain @ k2communications.in