2 min readNew DelhiMar 18, 2026 12:56 AM IST
President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday presided over an event to celebrate five billion meals served by The Akshaya Patra Foundation, using the occasion to emphasize the link between nutrition, education, and India’s long-term development goals.
“Serving five billion meals in the advancement of educational objectives is the remarkable achievement of Akshaya Patra Foundation,” President Murmu said. It “underscores the significance of a nourished and educated society in realizing our national resolve to build ‘Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2047,” she said.
Framing child welfare as a collective responsibility, Murmu said, “A safe and bright future for our children is not solely the responsibility of the government, but a shared responsibility of us all.”
She added that “We must ensure that every child receives quality education, nutritious food, good health, and a clean and safe environment.”
The President said the school meals program PM-POSHAN, formerly the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, “had proven to be a significant incentive for parents to send their children to school,” and had led to “an increase in children’s enrolment, attendance, and retention in schools” as well as “a remarkable improvement in their learning capabilities and academic performance”.
The Akshay Patra Foundation is the biggest implementing partner of PM-POSHAN, and currently serves 2.35 million children daily across 16 states and three Union Territories.
The organisation was established 25 years ago with the objective of ensuring that “no child in India should be deprived of education because of hunger.” The Foundation has since grown into what it says is “the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch program”.
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The event, held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, was also attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who described the program as a “Jan Andolan” rooted in collective effort.
“Unless our children and youth are well-nourished, India cannot fully realise its potential,” he said. “Nutritious food reaching every child in the country is not just a service but a resolution for the future.”
The partnership between the government and the Foundation “stands as a shining example of how government, society, and institutions can work together to address some of the nation’s most complex challenges”, Pradhan said.
