The Akshaya Patra Foundation Amplifi es the Partnership with BW LPG India
The Akshaya Patra Foundation Amplifi es the Partnership with BW LPG India to Fuel Mid-Day Meals across India
Expanded Partnership Set to Reinforce Nutrition and Educational Outcomes w ith Advanced Kitchen Technologies and Extended Support Through 2026
Chennai, India,12th November, 2024 – The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-p rofit organisation focussed on providin g unlimited food for education for Gove ernment & Government-Aided school c hildren as the implementing part ner of PM POSHAN program, is pleased to ann nounce the significant expansion of its p artnership with BW LPG India, the natio n’s largest owner and operat or of Very L arge Gas Carriers (VLGCs). This collabo ration signifies a strength ening commit ment towards improving children’s nut rition and educational o utcomes across India.
Since 2017, BW LPG India has been piv otal in India’s LPG supply chain, accoun ting for about 25% of the LPG supply in to India. As a subsidiary of the globaal l eader BW LPG, the company brings int ernational standards and substantial c apabilities to the partnership.
The partnership, initiated with a Memo randum of Understanding in late 2023, designated BW LPG India as the Energy Partner for nine of Akshaya Patra’s cent ralized kitchens in Andhra Prades h and Uttar Pradesh. Over four month s, this a lliance facilitated the preparat ion of ap proximately 12 million mid-day meals di stributed to children from over 2,200 sc hools.
Further solidifying their commitment, B W LPG India recently undertook the co nstruction of dining sheds in Bikaner, R ajasthan, enhancing the dining infrastru cture for children at two schools. The re newed MOU for the fiscal year 2 024-25, encompassing an additional three ki tchens, projects the support of ne arly 4 2.7 million midday meals.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation Ampli fi es the Partnership with BW LPG India B W LPG Indi a’s corporate purpose is to d eliver ene rgy for a better world, and it has been very rewarding to be the Ene rgy Partn er for the Akshaya Patra Foun dation. With our specialization in delive ering LPG into India, we want to support Ak shaya Patra’s energy ne eds in their c entral kitchens as they deliver midday m eals to children. Wh en we join forces, w e can transform liv es with energy.”
Mr. Dhananjay Ganjoo, Chief Resource Mobilization & Marketing Officer at Th e Akshaya Patra Foundation, remarke d, “Our collaboration with BW LPG India has been transformational not only in s cale but also in the sustainability o f our operations. Their continued support un derlines a shared vision for a he althier, better-educated generation. The up co ming projects in Odisha, introducing gre ener, LPG-powered kitchen equipment, mark a significant leap towards environ mentally sustainable meal production.”
This partnership also extends to huma nitarian efforts, with BW LPG India co ntributing INR 20,00,000 providing rel ief kits for 1,667 families, which ensur ed sustenance for 15-16 days, towards the Assam Flood Relief works initiated by Akshaya Patra. Additionally, a pilot project is underway to convert a briqu ette boiler to an LPG boiler for a kitch en serving mid-day meals to 580 rural schools in Odisha, requiring an investm ent of Rs 2 Cr. This project involves the installation of two dual-fired boile rs of Rs 5,225,000.
The operational expenses for the first three years are proj ected to be Rs 14,5 15,224, accounting f or a 4% increase in meal demand and 7% inflation. This co llaboration aims t o enhance clean coo king and meal qu ality for children in n eed.As both orga nizations prepare to i mplement their newest MOU from Oct ober 1, 2024, to M arch 31, 2026, this ve nture promises to further leverage cutti ng-edge techn ology and resources to su pport undeb rprivileged children ac ross India, mak ing a direct impact on their d aily lives and long-term well-bei ng.
About BW LPG India: BW LPG India is India’s largest owner and operator of India-flagged Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) and transports approximately 25 percent of India’s maritime LPG imp orts. It is a subsidiary of BW LPG, the w world’s largest owner and operator of v VLGCs with over 40 VLGCs. BW LPG ha s five decades of operating experience in LPG shipping, an in-house LPG tradin g division and a growing presence in LP G terminal infrastructure and distributi bution. It is listed on the New York and Oslo Stock Exchanges.
About The Akshaya Patra Foundation: T he Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-f or-profit organisation that strives to ad ddress classroom hunger and malnutrit tion in India. By implementing the PM P OSHAN Scheme in government and gov ernment-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and, at the same ti me, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards rea ching out to children with wholesome fo food every single school day. The Found ation is continuously levera ging techno ology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens h ave become a subject of study and att ract curious vi sitors from around the world.
As an implementing partner of the PM POSHAN with support of the Governm ent of India and various State Governm ents, Akshaya Patra has grown from hu mble beginnings serving just 1,500 scho hool children across five schools to beco ming one of the largest (not-for-profit r un) school feeding programme, serving wholesome food to over 2.2 mi llion chil dren from 23,000+ schools acr oss 16 st ates and 2 union territories in India.
For more details, please log on: www.akshayapatra.org
