President Pranab Mukherjee Confers the Prestigious Padma Shri on Madhu Pandit Dasa

President Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Padma Shri to Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of

The Akshaya Patra Foundation in the historic Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.

Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa was honoured with the recognition for the distinguished service

rendered by Akshaya Patra for the children of India.

12/4/2016

The Akshaya Patra Foundation Page 1

The presentation ceremony of the prestigious Padma Shri was held in the

historic Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11:30 am on Tuesday

(12/4/2016). Continuing the tradition, the Hon‟ble President of India Shri

Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Padma Shri to Madhu Pandit Dasa,

Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. At the ceremony, illustrious

personalities recognised for contributions in varied fields were also present.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation Page 2

The Akshaya Patra Foundation Page 3

Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa was honoured with the recognition for the

distinguished service rendered by Akshaya Patra for the children of India. On

the occasion, he thanked the Government of India for the recognition. With

regard to the honour, he said, “I dedicate this award to Srila Prabhupada, a

true visionary who wanted to see a hunger free world. This recognition shall

give immense encouragement to the Akshaya Patra team to

reach greater heights. It is our humble service of providing nutrition to the

government school children through the Akshaya Patra programme. It is an

inspiration for me and the entire team at Akshaya Patra to reach out to

many more hungry children of this country. Quality food for these children

is essential for quality education that will in turn create citizens who can

think for themselves and help develop good character.”

Madhu Pandit Dasa designed the first centralised kitchen of Akshaya Patra,

to provide mid-day meals to underserved children in the Government

schools of Bengaluru rural district during July 2000. Under his inspiring

leadership and impeccable commitment, the organisation grew

unceasingly towards its mission of feeding „5 million children by 2020.‟

Akshaya Patra partners with the Ministry of Human Resource Development,

Government of India and various State Governments as one of the most

admired Public Private Partnerships in education and child welfare. Scientific

studies conducted by leading research organisations such as A. C Nielsen

and Sigma clearly established the positive impact of its mid-day meal

programme.

Madhu Pandit Dasa set up a robust Governance Model that has made

Akshaya Patra a hallmark of transparency and accountability. This is

highlighted by the fact that Akshaya Patra is the only NGO in the country to

win the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Gold Shield Award

for Excellence in Financial Reporting five times in a row and placed in its

prestigious Hall of Fame.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation Page 4

Under his leadership, Akshaya Patra has grown from providing 1500 children

with mid-day meals to 1.5 million children in 15 years, becoming the world‟s

largest NGO-run school lunch programme. A Harvard case study, the

Foundation has recently served the 2 billionth meal.

Madhu Pandit Dasa has completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-

Mumbai in the year 1980. While he was doing his M.Tech course in IIT-

Mumbai in 1981, he dedicated himself to the service of humanity by

becoming a full-time member of ISKCON. Apart from being the Chairman of

Akshaya Patra, he also serves as the President of ISKCON Bangalore and

Chairman of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir.

Watch the video of award receiving: https://youtu.be/wn0Xbl4IBiQ