The Akshaya Patra Foundation bagged the CNBC India Business Leader Awards in the “SOCIAL ENTERPRISE OF THE YEAR CATEGORY” that were conferred in Mumbai on January 22nd, 2009.
The awards were adjudged by a jury of luminaries consisting of Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Mr. R. Seshasayee, Mr. Jagdish Khattar and Mr. Raghav Bahl. The event brought together the most revered names in India’s political, economic and social circles.
Akshaya Patra has won accolades from all corners for its yeomen work for the mid-day meal program in India and their astounding performance in feeding nearly one million (ten lakh) school children every day.
Dignitaries who were present for the award ceremony included Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat, Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industries, Aamir Khan, Atul Punj, S. Ramadorai, Uday Kotak, Ajay Piramal, Naresh Goyal, Chitra Ramakrishnan, Anand G. Mahindra, Sumit Bannerjee, Swati Piramal and Nita Ambani.
Shri. Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, received the award and said, “This award is actually a recognition of thousands of supporters from the corporate world, professional governance provided by my co-trustees, board of advisors, support of the state and central government, thousands of Akshaya Patra staff and dedicated missionary workers, to bring a smile on the faces of the underprivileged children of our country and to empower them with education.”
“We have been following the best practices of the corporate world in terms of transparency and governance which we believe is essential to conduct the program on such a grand scale. We also thank God for making us instruments in this great service and pray that we will be able to extend this service to lakhs of more children to support them with good education.”
