Bharti AXA joins hands with Akshaya Patra : mid-day meal programme

Hyderabad: Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of India's leading business groups, and AXA, one of the world's largest insurance companies, pledged to support and contribute to the mid-day meal programme for government school children in partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation.

On its 13th Foundation Day as part of 13 Smiling Years initiative, Bharti AXA Life Insurance has joined hands with Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world's largest non-profit NGO running mid-day meal programme and urged its employees to donate a day's salary and transform the lives of many. The donation will be offered to Akshaya Patra to sponsor meals for school children from underprivileged sections of the society.

''Going to bed hungry is sad. Mid-day meal can sometimes be the only meal of the day for many children in India. On this auspicious day of our 13th anniversary, we have joined hands with Akshaya Patra Foundation on the wonderful initiative of supporting mid-day meal across the country. We strongly believe that a full stomach leads to better learning and powers their future with protecting lives to spreading smiles,'' said Vikas Seth, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA Life Insurance.

He said the company has about 5,500 employees across the country and they will help the non-profit organisation counter classroom hunger and aid in education of children. Akshaya Patra serves hot and nutritious mid-day meals free of cost to children studying in government-run schools. At present, it feeds 1.76 million children every day in 15,000 schools across 12 states in the country.

"We see a positive value in associating with Bharti AXA Life Insurance for our mid-day meal programme. This association will help us take a few steps towards our mission of reaching 5 million children by 2025," said Shridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

As part of this noble initiative, Akshaya Patra Foundation will also provide an opportunity to employees of Bharti AXA Life Insurance to visit its kitchens and see the preparation of food for students.