By: Mr Shridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation – Quote on Budget 2025

“The 2025 Budget’s focus on child nutrition and education aligns closely with our mission to eliminate classroom hunger and support quality education. The government’s focus on enhancing the Sashakt Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programs, which aim to address malnutrition is a crucial step towards achieving SDG 2 – Zero Hunger. These initiatives will provide robust nutritional support to needy community, directly benefiting the children we serve through our Anganwadi Feeding Programme.

Additionally, the establishment of the National Institute of Food Technology will strengthen food processing activities, potentially enhancing the quality and reach of the public feeding programs.

Additionally, investments in digital education infrastructure – including broadband access, AI-driven learning, and Atal Tinkering Labs at school’s complement SDG 4 – Quality Education. Our Digital Education Programme is already making a difference. The government’s push for digital infrastructure will further expand our reach.

We welcome these commitments and remain dedicated to our efforts to ensure no child in India is deprived of education due to hunger. The Akshaya Patra Foundation remains committed to working collectively through the PPP model with the government and other stakeholders to realize these ambitious goals.”