Akshaya Patra’s Second ‘zero To Billion’ Conclave To Be Hosted At Bhubaneswar

July 31, 2008 - PRLog -- In a follow up to its highly successful “Zero to Billion” conclave held in Bangalore in February, the Akshaya Patra foundation, the world’s largest run school meal programme which currently feeds over 9.40 lakh school children across India, will be hosting its second edition of the “Zero to Billion” Conclave in Bhubaneswar. The event will be a congregation of eminent CEOs and leaders from diverse sectors such as corporates, social institutions, philanthropy, art and culture, media and politics to celebrate the foundation’s success. The conclave will be held on August 16, 2008 at Hotel Swosti Plaza, Bhubaneswar, Orissa.

Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Orissa is one of the busiest industrial hub of the large number of Corporate houses and the Foundation wishes to sensitise the think-tank of the society to penetrate the nook and corner of the State. Presently the programme is feeding over 9,40,000 children in over 4,500 government, government aided schools and anganwadis (day care centres) in 14 locations across India on any given day.  With the reopening of schools in this academic year, the foundation is presently feeding 35,000 children in Puri and 10,500 children in Nayagarh.

The larger aim of the event is to celebrate the pioneering efforts and dramatic results accomplished by Akshaya Patra in a short span of time, since its inception in 2000. Akshaya Patra would also deliberate a solution to address the social evil of widespread hunger and malnutrition affecting 57 million children in India, and the debilitating effects of lack of schooling and resulting illiteracy.

A list of eminent people from the government and the private sector have confirmed their presence at the conclave which will feature Shri Chandrasekhar Sahu, Union Minister of state for Rural Development, Government of India and Shri Surjya Narayana Patro, Minister of Energy, IT & Culture, Government of Orissa. The key note address will be made by Shri Baijayanta Panda, MP Rajya Sabha, Government of India, Shri Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group and Shri C.R. Pradhan, CMD, Nalco Aluminium Co Ltd, Mr. Gururaj Desh Deshpande, Chairman, Sycamore Networks and Mr T.V. Mohandas Pai, Board Member & Director Human Resources, Infosys Technologies Ltd, are the Co-Chairpersons of the event.

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 Rajasthan, 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.

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