The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Why Himachal Pradeshâs trout farmers are quitting the business, Caught on camera: The moment when BTS realised they didnât win, and more from 2021 Grammy Awards, Ambani bomb scare: Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze suspended, What history tell us about the reasons for Nepal to edge away India and turn to China, Pause, rewind, play: Michael Holding, Geoffrey Boycott and the 'greatest over ever bowledâ, Ancient men were hunters and women were gatherers. In 2001, the Supreme Court passed an order in the Right to Food case, mandating that the scheme be extended to all government schools across India. In 1995, the Union government adopted the idea, aiming to encourage children to attend school, reduce dropout rates and fight malnutrition. The institute gave a favourable report, supporting Akshaya Patraâs contention that the meals fulfilled the nutritional norms set by the government. He is an ardent supporter of the Akshaya Patra Foundation and is one of the members of the board of trustees of Akshaya Patra. However, the discrepancies did not stop here. This, after they accused the trustâs Chairman of stalling audits that could reveal diversion of funds and related party transactions. Among them is Akshaya Patra, which functions in 12 states. A second source who spoke to The Quint on the condition of anonymity, said that whistle-blower reports had also pointed out how Akshaya Patraâs name and resources were being used for the work of temple trusts associated with ISKCON Bangalore. What were the first signs of trouble at Akshaya Patra? All four independent trustees who had been with the Akshaya Patra since 2000 have resigned.Â. According to its website, it provides mid-day meals to 17 lakh school children in 15,024 government schools and government-aided schools. What the brains behind the Akshaya Patra Mid-Day Meals have to say about the recent controversy over the absence of onion and garlic in their servings. One of the ways to ensure the efficient delivery of meals under the programme has been for states to employ the services of third parties such as Akshaya Patra, a foundation which functions under the aegis of ISKCON. It found itself in the midst of a controversy after an article in a claimed that school-children in Karnataka were not happy with the food provided as it lacked garlic and onion. According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which implements the scheme, more than 9.40 crore children across 11.6 lakh government and government-aided schools were provided one hot cooked meal every day in 2017-â18. One of the sources explained how not just resources, but the name and brand value of Akshaya Patra was being misused. A Performance audit of the mid-day meal scheme from 2009-10 to 2013-14 by the Ministry of Human Resource development shows several gaps that are ⦠The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF), a sister concern of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) - a spiritual organisation, is known for its extensive work in providing midday meals (MDM) to children going to publicly-funded schools. Akshay Patra has around 52 kitchens across the country and also receives food grains from the government for its mid-day meals. The Foundation strives to eliminate classroom hunger by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme. Mohandas Pai, a member of the board of trustees at Akshaya Patra, described the report a âLeftist hit jobâ. A well-placed source close to the Union Ministry of Education said that the ministry, headed by Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, is in receipt of complaints from both the parties in this case and is examining the matter. Consequently, former Wipro CFO Suresh Senapati chaired the audit committee and found discrepancies after a year of digging. According to sources, while Abhay Jain resigned in February 2020, the remaining three independent trustees resigned in October as all their efforts to make Akshaya Patra more transparent and completely separate it from the temple trusts fell in vain. The director of the midday meal scheme in Odisha, Gangadhar Sahoo, acknowledged that without onion and garlic, the food served by Akshaya Patra was ânot according to local tasteâ but said the government had decided to continue the midday meal contract with the organisation because it was âvery efficientâ. Both the Centre and the state governments contribute funds for the scheme, with the menu differing in each state according to local factors. After the controversy, many social media users came forward to offer donations to the organisation. The National Institute of Nutrition, however, has maintained that it followed all regulations while conducting the study. The central controversy around Akshaya Patra is that it refuses to include onion, garlic and eggs in the food it serves. Karnataka government then referred the Akshaya Patra menu to the National Institute of Nutrition for technical assessment of nutrition levels. The report said apart from giving the organisation Rs 5.5 as the charges for each meal, the government also allocated it grain from Food Corporation of India. And sadly, the Akshaya Patra story was an example of shoddy one-sided journalism. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is under fire from sections of the media alleging that the mid-day meals for school children provided by it, which are essentially satvik without garlic or onion, don't match the nutritional standards required for growing up kids.. During 2015, activists associated with RFC remarked that the denial of eggs to children was the conspiracy by upper caste groups and BJP government. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Right to Food activists have long criticised the NGO for its position, claiming that it was jeopardising childrenâs nutritional needs to implement its religious beliefs. Indeed, the âsatvik foodâ controversy echoed in the Lok Sabha last July.