The Akshaya Patra Foundation was honoured the Nikkei Asia Prize – one of the most prestigious awards in Asia – for its significant achievements in the ‘Economic and Business Innovation’ category.
 
The award ceremony was held on 29th May, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan and Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation was present to receive the award. As part of the prize, The Foundation has received 3 million JYN along with a certificate by Mr Naotoshi Okada, CEO of Nikkei Inc.

On receiving the award, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa said, “I am truly humbled by this honour. I take this recognition as an insignia of hope and encouragement to our mission of providing unlimited food for education to school children every day. It is a matter of exceptional pride and honour to be bestowed with the Nikkei Asia Prize. I sincerely thank Nikkei Inc. for recognizing Akshaya Patra as an organization that has undertaken initiatives to respond effectively to social needs for Asia’s better future.” He also thanked the Governement of India and the state government and well-wishers for their continued support towards Akshaya Patra’s cause.

Since 1996, Nikkei Inc has been presenting the annual awards to individuals and organizations who contribute to sustainable development and create a better future for Asia. The prizes are awarded in three categories: (i) Economic and Business Innovation (ii) Science, Technology and Environment (iii) Culture and Community. Akshaya Patra was selected under the Economic and Business Innovation for its continuous efforts in fighting hunger among school children in India by providing mid-day meals on every school day and encouraging children to attend school.

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa designed the first centralized kitchen of Akshaya Patra in 2000 to provide mid-day meals to underserved children in the Government schools of Bengaluru. In the last 15 years, Akshaya Patra has increased its reach from 1500 children in Bengaluru to more than 1.5 million children in 10 states across India. The Foundation is now working towards its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2025.