• -   The kitchen will provide mid-day meals to 25,000 children every day
• -   To increase the kitchen’s efficiency, Apraava Energy will sponsor the Capex for the equipment worth INR 2.14 crore.

Assam, 18 April 2022: To progress on its mission of eliminating classroom hunger, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has collaborated with Apaarva Energy, a leading investor in the Indian power sector, to set up a centralised mid-day meal kitchen that will serve nutritious meals to 25,000 children daily in 450 government schools in Jorhat, Assam.

The project aims to ensure the provision of healthy balanced meals to children, reduce school dropouts and enhance enrolment in schools, in line with the government’s mid-day meal scheme. The kitchen is in advanced stage of construction and is expected to be operational by July 2022.

Under the partnership, Apraava Energy will provide a fund for INR 2.14 crore towards the design and construction of the kitchen premises and the necessary Capex equipment such as dal and vegetable cauldron, wet grinder, delivery vehicles, leafy vegetables cutting machine, water tanks and packing chutes.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the kitchen and supply of wholesome and well-balanced nutritious meals to the schools and anganwadis. Furthermore, the Bengaluru-based NGO plans to employ the staff for the kitchen from the communities around Jorhat.

The kitchen project that aims to ensure the provision of healthy balanced meals to children, reduce school dropouts and enhance enrolment in schools, in line with government’s mid-day meal scheme, is also funded by an anchor donation of Rs 6.11 crore from Credit Suisse.

Speaking on the partnership, Dr. Priyesh Modi, Head – Corporate Social Responsibility, Apraava Energy said “We are extremely happy to expand our partnership with The Akshay Patra Foundation and contribute to efforts aimed at combating hunger and encouraging children to pursue education. The kitchen in Jorhat will be our third venture with The Akshay Patra Foundation. It is located close to our latest acquired transmission asset, Kohima Mariani Transmission Limited (KMTL). The nutritious meals provided by the kitchen will help school children focus better during classroom learning. We are proud and privileged for this opportunity to serve the school communities in and around our area of business operations.”

“We are immensely grateful to Apraava Energy for partnering with us, along with others, to build this kitchen, which will help us serve 25,000 children in the region. Partnerships such as these form an integral part of our endeavours to ensure equitable access to nutrition and education for the children in India,” said, Mr Sundeep Talwar, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Previously, Apraava Energy had extended support towards the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s feeding programme in Hubli and Nawabpet, donated happiness kits and provided capex for equipment in these areas.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation now operates 61 kitchens across 13 States and a Union Territory. The centralised kitchens have the capacity to cook up to 1 lakh meals daily. They are automated and thus ensure hygiene during the cooking processes. These kitchens are run by the women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the guidance and supervision of Akshaya Patra’s kitchen process and operations module.

Apraava Energy is committed to socially responsible growth and development of communities around its operations. The company’s contributions, made through community investment initiatives, are mainly focused on enhancing health and sanitation facilities, education and skill building, and infrastructure development, with special attention to youth and women empowerment.

About Apraava Energy
Apraava Energy is a diversified power company, jointly owned by the CLP Group – one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia – and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) – a global investment group. Founded in 2002, Apraava Energy has evolved from being a single-asset company to a forward-looking, climate-conscious organisation. Its diverse portfolio comprises 3,150 MW of installed capacity which includes 924 MW of wind and 250 MW of solar energy projects across seven states, as well as power transmission assets.

Looking forward, the Mumbai-based company will only invest in low-carbon growth areas, including renewable energy, power transmission and potentially distribution, as well as other non-generation, customer-focused energy businesses.

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and, at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.

In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not- for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools [as of March 2020] across 13 states and one union territory in India.