Akshaya Patra news: Indian NGO wins CII Awards

The latest Akshaya Patra news covers the Foundation’s double winning streak at the 9th CII Food Safety and Quality Summit held in New Delhi on December 2nd, 2014. The Vasanthapura kitchen of this Indian NGO became the recipient of the highest position of Outstanding Performance in Food Safety, and the Hubli kitchen of this Indian NGO received the 2nd highest position of Certificate of Commendation for Significant Achievement in Food Safety.

Akshaya Patra won the awards after being assessed on approximately 500 parameters divided into four categories. The evaluation touched upon criterions like Food Safety Management Systems, Good Manufacturing Practices, compliance to statutory and regulatory requirements and the like. 

Muralidhar Pundla, Director – Quality, of this Indian NGO expressed that it’s an honour for Akshaya Patra to be recipient of two awards at a go from CII. He added that Akshaya Patra will continue to focus on Continual Improvement Programmes thereby further strengthening kitchen operations to provide healthy and on time meals to the millions of beneficiaries. In 2013 too, Akshaya Patra was in news as the Bellary kitchen of this Indian NGO was the recipient of the CII National Award for Food Safety. 

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Akshaya Patra wins Platinum award at Lean Six Sigma competition

The latest Akshaya Patra news covers the NGO’s win at the 3rd Annual Convention and Competition of Lean Six Sigma. This NGO in Gujarat won the Platinum award in the first category. The event was hosted by Concept Business Excellence Pvt. Ltd., Vadodara and was well attended by about 500 people both from India and abroad.

The theme for the event was 'Lean Six Sigma for Global Competitiveness'. Global Competitiveness in this context refers to India's best performance across environmental, social and economic conditions encouraging data driven policy based on evidences, improvement in statistical standards, identification of good practices and the like. The project implemented by this NGO in Gujarat’s Surat kitchen achieved reduction of cooking gas cost by 10%, streamlined processes like raw material flow to the machine, optimisation of baking temperature and machine speed. The Akshaya Patra team achieved four to five times their projected goal.

Among approximately 40 case studies presented by leading manufacturing companies, Akshaya Patra was the first and only NGO to participate in the session. Know more about this latest Akshaya Patra news at Platinum win at 3rd Annual Convention and Competition of Lean Six Sigma.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Donation to NGO in Hyderabad for mid-day meal in India

The mid-day meal in India has shown tremendous positive impact in the lives of the underserved children and in the lives of their families too. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organisation working in partnership with the Government of India. This Foundation works as a NGO in Hyderabad and 22 other locations across 10 states of India. Akshaya Patra has been operating as a NGO in Hyderabad since October 2008. Over the years, this NGO in Hyderabad has been able to feed mid-day meal to 54,849 children studying in 454 Government schools in the location. In 21 locations, Akshaya Patra provides mid-day meal in India from its centralised kitchens and Hyderabad is one of those locations. Baran in Rajasthan and Nayagarh in Odisha provides mid-day meal to children from decentralised kitchens as this format best suits the terrain of the mentioned locations.

Akshaya Patra follows the Public-Private Partnership model to implement the mid-day meal in India. This format of operation has shown strategic developments and progresses in reaching out to millions of children. The NGO is supported by the Government in the form of grants and subsidies to run the mid-day meal in India but along with this support the NGO also requires monetary support from the supporters and donors. Akshaya Patra has always taken measures to sustain the programme in existing locations while expanding to newer locations. The efficiency of providing mid-day meal in India by having an account of each penny proves Akshaya Patra's credibility. The meal cost for one child for one whole year has been economically worked out at Rs. 750. This means when a donor contributes Rs. 750 donation to the NGO, he or she is actually providing wholesome nutritious meals for one child for an entire year. With this donation to NGO, the donor has also been successful for allowing the child to continue with the much needed education which otherwise would have been a distant dream for the child. Also, donation to NGO is just one form of contributing towards the mid-day meal programme. Akshaya Patra provides a galore of activities in the Getinvolved section of its official website that can be taken up to add support to the organisation.

This NGO in Hyderabad also reaches out to provide free lunch to Anganwadi centres. Thus the beneficiaries of this NGO in Hyderabad is not just limited to Government school children but to Anganwadi children too. Certainly, Akshaya Patra is working towards 100% elimination of classroom hunger thereby paving way for a completely educated India. For this it requires the support of each member of the society.

Come forward and join the movement to provide mid-day meal in India so that every child in India is able to live their childhood and create their future.

Hyatt Place Hampi observed Giving Tuesday with Akshaya Patra

Hyatt Place Hampi awarded The Akshaya Patra Foundation with a USD $15,000 on #GivingTuesday that was celebrated on 2nd December 2014. This contribution was a part of Hyatt Community Grants. Hyatt Community Grants is the philanthropic branch of Hyatt Thrive, the company's global corporate responsibility programme that encourages Hyatt colleagues to be involved in charity. By participating in Akshaya Patra event this contribution was an aid to Akshaya Patra’s cause.

The grant was presented to Akshaya Patra representatives by General Manager - Sameeth Guha, Executive Chef - Debasish Shah and HR Manager - Kanika Mehra of the Hyatt Place Hampi. By participating in this Akshaya Patra event, Hyatt Place Hampi has contributed towards the betterment of millions of children. Akshaya Patra wholeheartedly thanks the entire team of Hyatt for this significant involvement.

Join us and support Akshaya Patra in bringing unlimited food for education. Give.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Donate to Odisha NGO for children

As a Odisha NGO for children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation currently provides mid-day meal to 1,25,242 children across four locations. The below table will present the location-wise details of the food for education programme of the Odisha NGO for children:

It's true that unless we become empathic to a certain condition or state of affairs, we will not understand its actual intensity. Thus unless we feel the hunger pangs in our stomach, we won't understand the real misery behind hunger. There are millions of children in India who gets pushed to earning a meal rather than being given the opportunity to study just so that they can fill their hungry stomach. At this juncture, food for education in the form of mid-day meal programme comes as a blessing for the tiny hearts. The mid-day meal programme is one of the most promising initiatives of the Government of India. The potential of this programme has led the Government to encourage participation of the society and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). With this initiative the underserved children studying in Government schools are able to receive nutritious meal along with education which made this programme worthy of the name food for education. Akshaya Patra is implementing this food for education by operating as an Odisha NGO for children along with being operational in nine other states. Akshaya Patra began its journey in June 2006 as an Odisha NGO for children. Since then the NGO has seen the positive impact that the programme has brought in the lives of the children.

The NGO has also witnessed the support and encouragement from the society to sustain and expand the food for education for programme. Many corporate houses and philanthropic individuals came forward to contribute donations to the charity. Due to the continued support from the Government and thoughtful supporters this Odisha NGO for children has been able to increase its beneficiary base from one location in June 2006 to four locations in November 2013. Donations to charity play a crucial role to meet the daily requirements in sustaining the programme. 

One can choose to contribute donations to charity either through online or offline donations. Apart from monetary donations to charity, one can also choose to donate food delivery vans or kitchen equipments or can also adopt a school. Get involved will introduce a host of activities that can be taken up by volunteers to benefit the children. Donations to charity will also paves way for a win-win situation for the donor and the beneficiary because the donor becomes eligible for 100% tax exemption and the beneficiary becomes even surer of the continuity of receiving the wholesome meal every day.

Lead the way to a confident tomorrow by supporting food for education programme.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Akshaya Patra children stories

The Akshaya Patra Foundation  is a mid-day meal NGO in Assam and nine other states of India. It provides free school lunch to Government school children. Currently it feeds 1.4 million children every day. Each of these Akshaya Patra children has their unique stories. Time and again the NGO brings across many heart-warming stories of its beneficiaries. The below is a anecdote of a child who is the beneficiary of this NGO in Assam.

Krishna Das, a student of Standard X, walks at least 20 kilometres to reach her school and back home. She studies in Sualkuchi Kali Ram Karikar Girls High School a Government run school. Krishna is from a village that is on a small hillock near the banks of Brahmaputra River. The road to her village is not suitable for transport facilities and also until a year ago there was no proper water supply and the residents had to depend on natural water sources. Even now only a part of the village has received electricity supply. She tells that all the blocks do not have school facility and her village is one among them, hence she travels such a distance every day. Krishna’s father is a weaver and a fisherman and her mother helps in weaving too. Krishna frankly puts across that even though weaving is a beautiful art she would not prefer to take it up as a living and instead look for opportunities that will come with a promising regular income. Her parents are encouraging too.

Krishna is an Akshaya Patra mid-day meal beneficiary. This mid-day meal helps many children like Krishna to receive at least one wholesome meal for the day and to sustain till evening. Though Krishna calls it wishful but she hopes that soon her village too should have access to basic amenities like education, hospital, electricity and road connectivity. 

There are many such warm and inspiring Akshaya Patra children stories from various part of the country. Know more about this NGO in Assam by clicking at Akshaya Patra Assam.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Mid-day meal NGO in Vrindavan

August 2004 saw The Akshaya Patra Foundation's advent as a mid-day meal NGO in Vrindavan. With this Vrindavan became the first location where Akshaya Patra served mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, this NGO in Vrindavan provides mid-day meal to 139,262 children in 1874 Government schools. Akshaya Patra caters to this enormous need every day through its centralised kitchen facility. This centralised kitchen is an ISO 22000:2005 certified facility. Witnessing the potential of the mid-day meal programme, the State Government of Uttar Pradesh has pledged support to the NGO in Vrindavan to extend its service to other locations of the state namely Lucknow, Kannauj, Varanasi, Kanpur and Agra. The construction of kitchen at Lucknow has already begun. In a noteworthy way, The Caterpillar Foundation is funding the construction of this centralised infrastructure.

While implementing the mid-day meal service in Uttar Pradesh, Akshaya Patra also takes into consideration various process optimisation and developmental steps to increase efficiency of its infrastructure. Every year the kitchens of Akshaya Patra across India explore and implement newer techniques to up the efficiency level and quality of meals. Few of the steps employed by the Vrindavan kitchen during 2013-14 are as follows:

• Process optimisation measures in Vrindavan kitchen resulted in reduction of cooking time by 2 ½ hours and distribution time by around one hour
• Vrindavan kitchen got the entire menu lab tested for nutrition and calorie analysis by a third party, which affirmed that we are meeting the prescribed Governmental norms.
• Vrindavan kitchen conducted a programme called Jansampark Yojana, to connect with all the beneficiaries in Mathura District and understand their preferences with regard to the menu items served, and to gather any other additional feedback. Based on the feedback, we introduced dhalia and suji halwa as a replacement for kheer which was not preferred by a majority of the beneficiaries

As an appreciation this NGO in Vrindavan was felicitated by Mankameshwari Inter College, Mathura, for its continued effort in providing good service and quality food to the Government school children. The mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh has certainly touched upon the lives of many underserved children. Stories of Hope will bring across the many heart warming anecdotes of children who would otherwise have had to live a life without education and nutritious meal.

But the tale of Akshaya Patra does not end here. It aims to feed 5 million children by 2020. It plans to expand its operations to newer locations while sustaining service in the existing locations. It seeks the support from all sections of the society in reaching this mission. One can choose to contribute to this cause by time, money or skill. Online donation to child NGO would be indeed the fastest mode of contributing towards the cause. However, apart from online donation to child NGO, there are many other volunteering opportunities provided by this charity.

Feed a child for an entire year by contributing just Rs. 750 through online donation to child NGO.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Akshaya Patra latest news: Inauguration of solar plant in Bangalore kitchen

 Inauguration of the solar plant on 29th November 2014 is one of the most promising captures in Akshaya Patra latest news. This solar plant was inaugurated at the Vasanthapura kitchen of The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Bangalore location. This plant has a capacity to generate 70 units of power per day. The introduction of this plant will not only help in cutting down production cost but is also an environment friendly approach undertaken by this NGO in Bangalore. This initiative of The Akshaya Patra Foundation will be aiding power supply for all the single phase power equipments like computers, fans and the like, which in turn will significantly reduce the kitchen unit’s dependency on regular grid electricity supply. 

This NGO in Bangalore is thankful to the support extended by the donors who sponsored this green initiative namely Stichting Hooge Woert, Liesbeth Van Geest and Rutger Zonneveld. The Vice Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation - Chanchalapathi Dasa along with COO – R. Madan, inducted the solar plant at the kitchen.

Capturing Chanchalapathi Dasa’s words, Akshaya Patra latest news reports that the introduction of the solar plant has been a very significant development in cost-effective meal preparation by in keeping the quality of being environment-friendly and utilization of renewable resource for decades.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

NGO in Bangalore uses creativity in engaging volunteers and creating awareness

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a NGO in Bangalore implementing the mid-day meal programme in Karnataka. Like any other NGO, this NGO in Bangalore too has stories grief stricken stories of its beneficiaries. But the difference is, Akshaya Patra has takes the positive approach to reach to the mass. This NGO in Karnataka for children always portrays hopes, smiles and dreams of the young hearts. Through this it portrays to the society that these children does not need sympathy that is available in abundance, rather they require little care, love and support from the society so that they too can achieve their aspirations.

Apart from implementing the mid-day meal programme in Karnataka, Akshaya Patra also implements the programme in nine other states of India. Totally this NGO feeds 1.4 million children across 23 locations covering Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam. While implementing this programme it receives the support of the Central Government and respective State Governments in the form of grants and subsidies. There are many corporate and individual philanthropists too who immensely contribute towards the cause. In order to spread awareness about the cause, this NGO in Bangalore has used different methods both traditional and new age.

However over the years of service this NGO in Karnataka for children has realised that instead of following the common suit to approach society, why not take the creative path. Thus, gradually Akshaya Patra developed creative methodologies to engage and reach supporters. It has time and again conducted photography contest, blogging competition, photo-bloggers meet and the like apart from campaigns appealing bikers, general public, students etc. This NGO in Bangalore has received overwhelming response for its creative contests and campaigns where participants from all over the world have been a part of it.

This NGO in Karnataka for children has well understood the importance and potential of society's participation in the success of the cause of eliminating hunger. Thus it gives a wide array of choice for volunteers and supporters to get connected with the cause through various activities. Get involved, Fundraise with us and Fundraising ideas will give a detailed structure of how an individual or a group can contribute towards bettering the lives of the children through time, skill and money. This NGO in Bangalore also provides tax exemption for donation made towards the Foundation. Any contribution of more than Rs. 500 becomes eligible for tax exemption donation. Interestingly, if an individual donates Rs. 750, he is actually contributing towards feeding one child for one whole year and along with that he also receives the benefit of tax exemption on donation.

Know more about this mid-day meal provider in Karnataka by clicking at The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Join the cause. You can choose your way of contribution - creativity, time, skill, fund or just word of mouth!

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Online donation for charity

With time non-profit organization in India has also evolved its way of communicating and engaging its supporters. One of the in-trend changes accommodated by non-profit organization in India is online donation for charity. As internet has become the one stop platform for all kinds of information, people have started utilising this platform for all kinds of activities like business, knowledge sharing, awareness creation and charity too. Like many others, The Akshaya Patra Foundation - a non-profit organization in India has witnessed the rising popularity of online donation for charity. This NGO has been providing mid-day meal in India since 2000. Currently, this non-profit organization in India operates in 23 locations and feeds 1.4 million Government school children every day.

Technology has brought the world literally at our finger tips. The present times allow people to review and compare things in a single platform by opening different windows. In such a situation it becomes necessary for all non-profits to have a user-friendly interface that will ease up the process of contributing donation either by regular donors or prospective donors. Online donation for charity allows the donor to contribute at his own space and time. It also makes the donor eligible for tax exemption, just like offline donation. Being a non-profit organization in India for more than a decade Akshaya Patra too provides tax exemptions for donations above Rs. 500 applicable under section 35 AC and 80G of Income Tax Act of India.

This non-profit organization in India does receive the support of the Central Government of India and various State Governments in the form of grants and subsidies to provide mid-day meal in India. But in order to sustain and expand this programme to benefit many more children, this non-profit organization in India also requires the support of the society in the form of time, skill or money. Since the organisation has witnessed the potential of mid-day meal in India in positively altering the lives of millions of underserved children, it wants to continue the programme until there is complete elimination of classroom hunger. Akshaya Patra understands and values each penny contributed by benevolent donors. Thus, this non-profit organization in India makes available various ways of donations like online donation for charity, offline donation, mobile donation and also donation in kind.

This non-profit organization in India makes available a full-fledged annual report each year publishing all its achievements, plans, developments along with audited financial reports for all its supporters and stakeholders. Not just donations, this non-profit organization in India also provides an extensive platform for volunteering and creating awareness about the need of mid-day meal in India. Choose to provide one wholesome meal per day to the children of India through this non-profit organization in India by contributing online donation for charity.

Your contribution will empower a child with healthy food and rightful education. Feed a child today!

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Akshaya Patra News: CA. K. Raghu of ICAI visits Akshaya Patra

One of the latest Akshaya Patra news covered the visit of CA. K. Raghu, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) along with his family and friends to The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Bangalore. CA. K. Raghu is an expert in information technology and is considered as a mentor for next generation chartered accountants. During the visit, he also invited Akshaya Patra to be a part of a forthcoming three day international conference scheduled to be held at the end of January.

Akshaya Patra is a non-profit organization in India and is the recipient of ICAI’s Gold Shield award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for five consecutive years. Following this, Akshaya Patra has become the only non-profit organization in India to have entered the ICAI Hall of Fame.

CA. K Raghu’s visit to Akshaya Patra was indeed overwhelming.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

100% tax exemption on donation to NGO

The benefit of supporting the mid-day meal programme can be beneficial to both - the beneficiary and the donor. The power and need of food makes the mid-day meal programme a catalyst for the children to attend school. By doing so, the underserved children receive the benefit of food and education. There are many NGOs that provide food for children education thereby taking forward the potential of the programme. The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been serving food for children education since June 2000. After the formal declaration to provide cooked mid-day meal to the school children by the Supreme Court of India in 2003, Akshaya Patra joined hands with the Government in implementing the mid-day meal programme. This partnership has led the NGO to currently provide food for children education to 1.4 million children across 10 states of the country.

The NGO is generously supported by corporate and individual donors. The corporate mainly partner with the NGO for fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and individuals join hands with the sheer trait of benefiting the society. Over the years, Akshaya Patra has had wonderful experience in steering forward the mid-day meal programme with the support of the CSR partnerships and individual donors. As a registered trust, Akshaya Patra is eligible to give 100% tax exemption on donations made towards the NGO. The Finance Ministry has encouraged the Foundation to seek donations under Section 35 AC and 80 G of the Income Tax Act. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also accorded permission to collect overseas donations under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976. This means to say that a donor who donates more than Rs. 500 is eligible to receive 100% tax exemption on donations.

The 100% tax exemption on donations can be availed by both offline donors and online donors. With this the beneficiaries receive the donors support and the donor receives an appreciation for being the factor for change. Also, when there is such a novel way of getting 100% tax exemption by donating to NGO then why to look for other ways to save tax. Akshaya Patra also provides its supporters to help the cause by means of volunteering and fundraising. Get involved and Fundraise with us will give a detailed approach to support the cause of food for children education. The Government and the mid-day meal programme implementing NGOs have witnessed the potential and change this initiative can bring. It has been by far one of the most promising initiatives in breaking the cycle of poverty-hunger-illiteracy.

Food is the basic necessity. Until the stomach is full, food will be the only dominant thought in our mind. Through the mid-day meal programme, we provide food for children in order to encourage education.

Provide wholesome meals and receive 100% tax exemption on donation!

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Children charity embracing IT

Information Technology (IT) has brought all types of businesses and organisations under one platform even charitable institutions like children charity etc. IT in present world is one of the most crucial requirements in smooth running of an organisation. Keeping pace with the changing trend, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an Indian NGO has in many ways harnessed the potential of IT.

This Indian NGO has seen itself grow from feeding mid-day meal to just 1,500 children in 2000 to 1.4 million children today. This children charity covers 23 locations across 10 states of India. This extensive growth requires high level storage, retrieval and maintenance of information relates to various departments. This Indian NGO has adopted few distinct ways IT processes for the smooth functioning of the organisation. It has utilised IT for end-user support, Enterprise Resource Planning and security.

The NGO blog Making the Most of IT will bring across the various developmental steps to maximise the potential of IT taken by this children charity like Office 365, Citrix XenApp server, data centre facility, Windows 7 and SharePoint.

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Partner with Akshaya Patra-Blog for a worthy cause

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in collaboration with BlogAdda has launched a blogging contest aimed to help eliminate classroom hunger. For those who want to help underprivileged children blogs that are entered into this contest will help achieve this goal. In fact, for every blog entry submitted to the contest, BlogAdda will feed one Akshaya Patra beneficiary for an entire year. In order to assist the ngo blogs pertaining to the subject 'Tell us how you think we can eliminate classroom hunger. Imagine what India would be like if no child goes hungry and an entire generation is educated. Blog about it and make a difference with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda' are required. The top five entries will be featured on the Akshaya Patra blog and promoted via social media channels as well.

To help feed the children blogs have to be entered by 11th December, 2014, midnight. According to the ngo blogs amounting to five per contestant are allowed in order to encourage as much participation as possible. The contest has been promoted extensively via social media channels like the Foundation's Facebook and Twitter pages and received commendable participation. Those interested can log onto the contest page, the Akshaya Patra website or the Akshaya Patra blog for more details.

As part of their effort to help Akshaya Patra feed the children blogs submitted to the contest will result in BlogAdda making a generous donation towards a child's health. According to the contest rules by the ngo blogs have to be relevant to the topic provided and have to be at least 300 words long. For the contestants who feel an affinity of the cause of Akshaya Patra blog entries by them will provide a suitable platform to share their thoughts on how to tackle the problem of classroom hunger in India, and improve the situation.

Aside from raising awareness of the issues facing children blogs submitted for the contest can also help inspire active contributions whether monetarily or through volunteering, fundraising and more. The ngo blogs through its official Akshaya Patra blog too to create awareness of the cause, on its own part, and urges those who wish to contribute to take part in the contest wholeheartedly. The contestants can take part with the knowledge that they are directly contributing towards improving the life of a little child through their words, as with every blog post written by them a little child gets access to regular food and education for an entire year. Through this contest children are not just given their daily nutritional requirements with the mid-day meal programme, but are also provided with the helping hand they need to have a better chance at succeeding in their futures. 

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Crucial role of NGO in India

Whether developed, developing or underdeveloped, the role of NGO remains crucial across all three categories of countries. NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) act as the implementing arm for the initiatives and schemes that the Government proposes. Globally all the NGOs have their causes to work towards. Considering the diverse socio-economic and cultural scenario in India, the role of NGO in India becomes even more critical. The range of causes that each NGO in India works toward is from child, women, health, environment, education, and the like.

Depending upon the nature of cause and need, the Government of India permits some of the NGOs to accept foreign contribution along with national funding in the form of donations. This indicates that even the Government is supportive of the role of NGO in India. However it is seen that NGO in India has not yet reached that level of trust among the Indian citizens, more so because of the doubt on usability of the funds collected. Recently, an article in Deccan Herald, 29 November 2014 mentioned that "a considerable 82% of 45,000 NGOs with permission to receive foreign contribution are yet to submit their accounts with the Union Home Ministry as the deadline is to end in a month. According to statistics, as on 15^th November, only 8,636 NGOs have submitted the details of foreign funds they received during the financial year 2013-14. It has been reported that during 2013-14, Tamil Nadu NGOs have received the highest foreign contribution at Rs. 546.64 crore for 1,344 NGOs. This was followed by Andhra Pradesh at Rs. 480.37 crore for 1,022 NGOs and Kerala at Rs. 385.crore for 951 NGOs. Karnataka ranked sixth with 594 NGOs submitting accounts for receipt of Rs 356.29 crore during 2013-14."

Even though there are many contributors and supporters who believe in the crucial role of NGO, yet incidences as mentioned above at some level deter their trust. In order to overcome such uncalled circumstance The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a mid-day meal NGO in India practices financial transparency and accountability by publishing its Annual Report every financial year. Along with publishing the developments, achievement and future plans of the organisation, this NGO in India makes available its audited financial reports for the public. Akshaya Patra provides free school lunch at more than 10,600 Government schools across 10 states of India. It provides meals to 1.4 million children every day.

Confidence and trust are the prerequisite among donors. Thus Akshaya Patra sends across donation receipt and tax exemption certificate even for NGO donation made online. It has created a platform to contribute NGO donation online as an attempt to ease up donors' charitable act. Irrespective of a donor's choice to contribute NGO donation online or offline, he will receive tax exemption certificate for any contribution made above Rs. 500.

We all know and accept the important role of NGO in Indian scenario. Let's all join together and help the NGOs not just financially but morally too!

Follow us: @AkshayaPatra on Twitter | TheAkshayapatraFoundation on Facebook |

 @AkshayaPatraFoundation on Rediff |  https://www.youtube.com/user/akshayapatra

Giving Tuesday with Akshaya Patra

Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the following Tuesday after the Thanksgiving Day. #Giving Tuesday received a global appeal after its launch in 2012. This day encourages people to indulge in charitable activity whether in the form of kind or donations for non-profit organizations. It could be the simplest of charitable activity like a thought posted in social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc.

Giving Tuesday is a way to remember the underserved or the less fortunate during the time when the world celebrates the holiday season. It is observed that the corporate houses and charities come together to commemorate this day. Some examples are Cisco and Hyatt Community Grants have partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to mark this day. While the already existing partner Cisco plans to launch a campaign with Akshaya Patra, Hyatt Community Grants, the Hyatt Hotels plans to partner with Akshaya Patra to celebrate Giving Tuesday 2014 through its philanthropic programme - Hyatt Community Grants.


Know more about Giving Tuesday and also ways you can be a participant in this novel initiative in Akshaya Patra’s Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages on 2nd December 2014.