About Us

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered

in Bengaluru, India. The organisation strives to fight issues like hunger and
malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the
Government schools and Government aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims not
only to fight hunger but also to bring children to school.
Since 2000, the organisation has worked towards reaching more children with
wholesome food on every single school day.
Akshaya Patra is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of
children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and
they attracts curious visitors from around the world.
In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments,
and inestimable support from many businesses, philanthropic donors and
well-wishers; we have grown from our humble beginnings in the year 2000,
serving just 1,500 children across 5 schools. Today Akshaya Patra is the
worlds largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme serving
wholesome food to over1.4 million children from 10,845 schools across 10
states in India.

A brief on the growth of The Akshaya Patra Foundation

On November 28, 2001 the Supreme Court of India passed a mandate

that:"Cooked mid-day meal is to be provided in all the Government and
Government-aided primary schools in all the states." Akshaya Patra was also
called upon to provide testimonies to the Supreme Court.
By the time the Ministry of Human Resource Development - Department of
School Health and Education extended its support to the initiative in 2003,
Akshaya Patra was already reaching out to 23,000 children.
Today, Akshaya Patra has kitchens in 24 locations spread across 10 states in
India, a result of the successful partnership with the Government of India,
various State Governments and generous supporters.

Our Work

Akshaya Patra is a non-profit organisation that operates on a Public-PrivatePartnership model. implementing partner of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, there
is a steady support from the Government of India, the various State
Governments and associated organisations. This has enabled the programme
to grow from feeding 1,500 children in the year 2000 to 1.4 million children in
2014.
Akshaya Patra, with part support from the Government, also depends on
corporate funds, philanthropic donors, volunteers and well-wishers for
managing such massive operation. The nitty-gritties of the operations include
the technological innovations, quality standards, delivery vehicles and
interacting with various stakeholders, to name a few.
The organisation is highly transparent and makes available not only the
financial information but also intellectual property to the public. The
organisation is of the belief that there is a dire need for the operations of
Akshaya Patra to be replicated so that it realises the vision that No child in

India shall be deprived of education because of hunger. And hence make

available all information to organisations, Government and other enthusiasts.

Mid-Day Meal
On November 28th, 2001 the Supreme Court of India passed an order stating:
"We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the MidDay Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and
Government assisted Primary School with a prepared mid-day meal."
Mid-Day Meal Scheme aimed to:

avoid classroom hunger

increase school enrolment

increase school attendance

improve socialisation among castes

address malnutrition and

empower women through employment

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, which was by then

successfully implementing its own school lunch programme in Karnataka, was
called in to give testimonies for verifying the efficacy of the scheme; post
which the mandate to implement Mid-Day Meal Scheme was passed.
In order to successfully carry out this mandate, each State Government then
started its own Mid-Day Meal programme. Initiated by the Government of
Karnataka, Akshara Dasoha is one such scheme in place.
Once started, one challenge that the Government faced now was that of
successful implementation. As the guidelines for the NP-NSPE, 2006 state,
wherever possible, the Government would: mobilize community support and
promote public-private partnership for the programme.Not-for-profits, such
as Akshaya Patra, are therefore encouraged to set up operations and they act
as the implementing arm of the Government.
The recognition of the role of voluntary agencies in partnering Government
initiatives by the Centre may have had some influence in the initiatives taken
by the Government of Karnataka to bring several NGOs into major

Government
sponsored
---Karnataka Human Development Report, 2005

programmes

In fact, as the Karnataka Human Development Report 2005 explains, the

Government of Karnataka was the first to take this step of involving NGOs in
development programmes. The report states that this involvement of the
NGOs in multilateral/bilateral programmes, raises the level of co-operations
to another level. The NGOs become not only implementers; they also find a
place in designing and managing programmes together with Government at
all levels.
This pioneering move, by the Government of Karnataka, to make NGOs the
implementing arm of the Government has been one of the major reasons for
its success in attaining the goals of the programme. The achievements of
these private-public partnerships have even influenced the Central
Government. By setting up and encouraging private-public partnerships, the
Government is successfully leveraging the skills and resources of the private
sector for the greater good. Today, India's Mid-Day Meal Scheme is one of the
largest school lunch programme in the world. 104 million children were
covered in 1.15 million schools during 2013-14.

Objectives of MDM
The Government of India started Mid-Day Meal Scheme. With an aim to
enhancing enrolment of children in schools, retention and increased
attendance while also improving nutritional levels among children, the
National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)
was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August, 1995. After
some amendments there on, as per the expansion of the programme, the
Government designed a set of rules and guidelines to be followed for
implementation. These include various aspects related to child health and
growth like the quantity of calories and proteins required for children from
specific age groups, the quantity of grains that can be allotted to each child
and so on.
The objectives of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme are:

Improving the nutritional status of children in classes I-V in

Government, Local Body and Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE
centres.

Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to

attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom
activities.

Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought

affected areas during summer vacation.

The organisation is highly transparent and makes available not only the
financial information but also intellectual property to the public. The
organisation is of the belief that there is a dire need for the operations of
Akshaya Patra to be replicated so that it realises the vision that No child in
India shall be deprived of education because of hunger. And hence make
available all information to organisations, Government and other enthusiasts.

Quality of MDM
Quality and Food Safety are the primary ingredients at each of the Akshaya
Patra kitchens. Learning from the past, we have introduced various metrics in
every area of operations and service delivery. We have also tied up with
different organisations to review the quality of the mid-day meals we prepare
and serve children. To maintain the quality of the meal, standardisation of
recipes across all locations has been undertaken. To improve quality
standards, advance projects like Kaizen and 5S have been started in different
locations. Employee Health and Safety activities are conducted to further
increase hygiene standards and improve safety and health.
Nutrition
The table below shows the required dietary norms as stated by the Central
Mid-Day Meal Scheme:

The table below shows the item-wise dietary norms as stated by the
Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme:

We strive to ensure that children not only have access to 'unlimited food for
education' but also to prescribed quantities of the nutrition. In order to
consistently maintain quality of the meal, we take feedback from schools on a
daily basis while delivering the meal. We are adopting and implementing
Kaizen, CI Projects and Six Sigma methodologies to ensure quality on all
terms.

Mid Day Meal Programme Implementation

While implementing the mid-day meal programme, the Central and State
Governments work hand in hand. Central Government issues guidelines to be
followed by State Governments while executing the scheme. However, there
are some states that have issued guidelines different from Central Guidelines.

A National Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee is set up to monitor the

programme, assess its impact and provide policy advice to Central and State
Governments. Central assistance in the form of subsidies is released upon
submission of the committees Annual Work Plan by the Programme Approval
Board.
Steering-cum-Monitoring Committees are also set up at a state level to
monitor the programme. A nodal department is authorised to take
responsibility. Implementation cells are organised by the nodal department
and one officer is appointed at each district and block level to oversee
effective implementation of the programme.
The Panchayats/ Urban Local Bodies are in charge of the scheme in states
where primary education is entrusted to them.
Flow of Funds

The Ministry of Human Resource Development is the nodal agency for

sanctioning funds and supply of food grains (central assistance) to the states
on behalf of the Government of India.

Flow of Grains

Source of images: Planning Commission, Govt. of India

Role of NGOS
NGOs play an important role in the expansion of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
The State Governments partner with NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation
to implement the Mid-Day Meal Programme in order to increase the number
of children they reach out to. Thus many NGOs work towards countering
hunger and malnutrition.
This Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has proved instrumental in improving the
quality and reach of the programme. There are many facets which the
Government considers when selecting a non-profit to partner with. Such
organisations must be transparent and 'of proven integrity'. Below are the NPNSPE 2004 criteria for choosing an NGO:
NP-NSPE 2004 criteria for choosing an NGO

The voluntary agencies should not discriminate in

any manner on the basis of religion, caste and creed, and
should not use the programme for propagation of any
religious practice.
The voluntary agency should be a body that is
registered under the Societies Registration Act or the
Public Trust Act, and should have been in existence for a
minimum period of two years.
Commitment to undertake supply responsibility on a
no-profit basis.
Willingness to work with PRIs/ Municipal bodies in
accordance with relevant guidelines of the State
Government.
Financial and logistic capacity to supply the mid day
meal on the requisite scale.
It will furnish to the body assigning the work to it an
Annual Report along with audited statement of accounts in
terms of all grants received from the State Government,
both in cash and kind, duly certified by an approved
Chartered Accountant.
From grain grants to a cooked meal

Once chosen, an NGO must set up a kitchen, carry out the day to day
operations of preparing meals and maintain its running costs. As the NPNSPE, 2004 Guidelines state,

'In urban areas where a centralised kitchen setup is possible for a cluster of
schools, cooking may wherever appropriate, be undertaken in a centralised
kitchen and cooked hot meal may then be transported under hygienic
conditions through a reliable transport system to various schools. There may
be one or more such nodal kitchen(s) in an urban area, depending on the
number of clusters which they serve.'
In order to implement the programme effectively, therefore, an NGO must be
well equipped to handle the logistics of the programme. A non-profit must
have financial and logistic capacity to supply the mid-day meal on the
requisite scale'.
The Government provides a solution as to how this may be attained. The
Ministry of Human Resources Department states:
The state government shall be fully responsible in implementing the
programme through NGOs support either for a cooked meal or pre cooked
food variant in eligible schools. To this extent the State Government or the
NGO concerned, may mobilize resources for conversion of food grains in to a
cooked meal.
- The Guidelines, in Annexure IX Para 7

This solution
has allowed organisations such as Akshaya Patra, who have kitchens across
the country, costing an average Rs. 80 million (8 crores), to set up their
massive infrastructures and conduct the Scheme in line with Governments
guidelines. It gives NGOs a means to raise funds for the deficit incurred
during programme implementation.
As the minutes of the 2008-2009 Programme Approval Board meeting
state,Other expenses such as cooks honorarium, vessels and kitchen
construction, transportation are to be borne by NGOs.
The Government has even made provisions for donations raised. For example
in 2003, a committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of India (the
National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare,

Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India)

recommended Akshaya Patra as an eligible project that could raise donations
up to Rs. 220 million (22 crores) with 100% tax benefits to the donors for 3
years.
In 2006 the committee reviewed Akshaya Patras programme once again and
raised the amount for tax free donations to Rs. 1000 million (100 crores).
Another review in 2009 increased that number to Rs. 2000 million (200
crores) for a period of 3 years.

Trust Deeds of the organisations, which

the Government is privy to, allow them to
raise funds. Akshaya Patras trust deed
states the following:
8.xi To accept gifts, donations or
contributions from individuals, corporate
and non-profit organisations around the
world so far as they are not inconsistent
with the objects of the trust
There is a two-pronged strategy to the Governments decision to encourage
NGOs. By doing so, not only does it improve the quality of the programme,
but also promote community involvement. According to the NP-NSPE, 2004
processes should also be set in place to ensure vibrant community
involvement so that the mid day meal programme becomes a peoples
programme.
NGOs promote community participation through active volunteering and
fundraising. They involve all layers of society and help the Government make
the mid-day meal scheme a peoples programme.
Keeping it Transparent

The question now arises as to the transparency of operations in a PublicPrivate partnership. A National level Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee
(NSMC) oversees management and monitoring of the programme. As stated
in NP-NSPE, 2004, the committee's duties include:

Mobilizing community support and promoting public-private

partnership for the programme

Monitoring programme implementation, assessing its impact, and

taking corrective steps
One of the conditions for eligibility is that persons managing the affairs of
the association or institution are persons of proven integrity (National
Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare, Government of
India). Another is that the association or institution maintains regular
accounts of its receipts and expenditure. Reports must be submitted
regularly by the voluntary organisation.
Results

The involvement of a number of private bodies in the implementation of the

Mid-Day Meal Scheme has resulted in visibly better performance.

Nearly 120 million (12 crore) children are so far covered under the
scheme, making this school lunch programme the largest in the world. The
Governments multi-faceted approach has therefore shown tremendous
results.

By leveraging the unique resources of organisations such as Akshaya

Patra to act as its implementing arm and making provisions for them to be as
self-sufficient as possible, the Government has successfully involved the
entire society in helping the children of our country. These foundations
promote community participation through fundraising and volunteering

The private public partnerships it has encouraged have been

instrumental in ensuring the success of the programme. With the aid of these
organisations, the Government has managed to scale the scheme to massive
proportions.

The scheme has impacted children in many ways. Attendance has

increased, classroom hunger has reduced, malnutrition decreased and
socialization among children of all castes improved.

On a global scale, the Indian Government has worked hard to meet the
Millennium Development Goals.

Role of Akshaya Patra

The Akshaya Patra Foundation started its mid-day meal programme in June,
2000 by providing free mid-day meals to 1,500 children in 5 Government
schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Over the past 15 years, the constant
support from the Government of India, various State Governments and
associated organisations has enabled the programme to grow by leaps and
bounds. Today, this organisation feeds free mid-day meals to 1.4 million
school children in 10,845 Government schools and Government-aided

schools. The organisation currently has its presence in 24 locations across 10

states in India. This not-for-profit organisation has been conferred as the
worlds largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme (source).

Hunger and Illiteracy are Indias two major challenges. There is serious
malnutrition scenario in India with the World Bank estimate of 60
millionchildren in India, being underweight. Hunger is an obstacle to childs
health, education and survival.
A recent UNICEF report states that more than 80 million children dropout
before completing 8 years of age and over 8 million children are out of
school.
Akshaya Patra is focused on eliminating classroom hunger and attracting
more children (enrolment) to schools and ensure to keep them in school
(reduce dropout rate) by feeding a filling, nutritious mid-day meal, every
school day. This is in partnership with the Government of India and all the
various State Governments.

The organisation, by means of this programme, aims at achieving the two

most critical Millennium Development Goals: Elimination of hunger and
Universalization of primary education.
The not-for-profit organisation works towards its vision of No child in India
shall be deprived of education because of hunger. In order to achieve this
vision, Akshaya Patra provides unlimited food for education. This wholesome
meal is often the only source of nutrition for the whole day for many of the
organisation's beneficiaries. Thus, to ensure that every child is benefited
through this one meal, Akshaya Patra prepares nutritious meals that suit the
local palate as well. For example: the kitchens in the northern parts of India
serve rotis while the kitchens in the southern areas serve rice.
The Foundation runs its operations through two kitchen models- Centralised
and De-centralised.
Centralised kitchens are large factory-like kitchen units that have the
capacity to typically cook up to 100,000 meals a day. These kitchens serve a
set of schools located around the units. These units are semi-automated thus
ensuring hygiene during the cooking process. The technology and process
used in centralised kitchens have been a topic of research and study in the
course curriculum of many renowned universities such as Harvard (Study).
Locations where factors like unfavourable geographical terrain and improper
road connectivity dont support construction of large infrastructure, decentralised kitchen are set up. De-centralised kitchen units are run by Women
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the guidance and supervision of Akshaya
Patras kitchen process and operations module.

What do the surveys say?

According to surveys conducted by various reputed organisations in the child

health segment, 40 per cent of our countrys population is below 18 years of
age. Out of this, less than 50 per cent goes to school. Economic and social
circumstances force these children to forego education and engage in doing
menial jobs in order to earn a single meal a day. Research also shows that
universal education has lagged because of the prevailing hunger and
malnutrition state. These two factors reduce school enrolments, hamper
performance levels and increase school drop-out rates, especially among
girls.
Hunger, especially classroom hunger impairs a childs performance even if
they do attend school. At this juncture, apart from the role of NGOs in child
education, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme acts as a huge incentive in bringing
these children to school. It prevents them from working and instead
encourages them to study and get educated. In this way the programme also
helps in the universalization of primary education.
When it comes to quality, there is no compromise

Hygiene and cleanliness is of utmost importance in each of the Akshaya Patra

kitchens, be it centralised or de-centralised. Read about our kitchen for more
information on quality control. The work of this not-for-profit entity has been
recognized as a member of the National Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee
(NSMC) for mid-day meal programme.
The success of this Public-Private Partnership is being appreciated widely and
is also being considered as a model partnership worthy of adoption. The
Foundation has also received global recognition by being ranked the 23 rd NGO
among the Top 100 NGOs of the world, by the Global Journal.

Mid Day Meal Little Bus

On a normal school day, a distinctive blue bus with images of happy school
children zooms past the streets of 24 locations in 10 states across India. This
blue bus carries thousands of smiles just like the ones displayed on it. This
blue bus is the most identifiable part of Akshaya Patras mid-day meal
programme since it delivers over a million hopes, dreams and of course,
smiles with the meals that it carries to the 10,845 schools in our country.
When the Akshaya Patra started executing the mid-day meal programme in
the year 2000, access to delivery vehicles was a major challenge. Hence, the
organisation would hire transport vehicles from external dealers to deliver
food to the schools. Since there were just five schools and were situated not
too far from the kitchen, it was manageable.

Gradually, one of the trustees of the organisation arranged for a customised

transport vehicle. Our supporters grew in leaps and bounds over the years
that followed, as did the number of children we reach out to. With more
supporters, more vehicles started flowing in to carry meals and dreams
across towns, villages and cities.
The blue bus is a customised transport vehicle specially designed to deliver
food that is packed in stainless steel 304 Grade vessels which can keep food
hot and fresh for long intervals of time. Every vehicle is steam-sterilised
before the loading process. The vehicle uses a puffed body to reduce loss of
temperature and a honeycomb structure to hold the vessels upright and keep
the freshness of the cooked meal intact till it is served.

And that is how every meal that goes into those 1.4 million plates is warm,
fresh, nutritious and ready to eat!

Other Initiatives

The organisation has taken many other feeding and social initiatives other
than Mid Day Meals Programme. Here are some of the Feeding initiatives and
social initiatives that is under taken by Akshaya Patra.

Anganwadi feeding
Disaster relief
Feeding expecting and lactating mothers
Feeding programmes in old-age homes
Feeding programmes in special schools
Feeding runaway children
Feeding the homeless
Subsidised lunch for the economically backward

"Apart from the above initiatives, the Foundation also works towards social
initiatives like:"

After class tuitions

Community health camps
Health check-up camps
Life-skills programmes
Scholarship programmes