Anil Agarwal Foundation Launches Multi-millet Nutrition Bars To Combat Malnutrition
Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF), the philanthropic arm of Vedanta launched its biggest nutritional program for children with multi-millet nutri-bar distribution in Varanasi in the presence of governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, and Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc and Non-Executive Director of Vedanta on Thursday. The launch took place at the modernised aanganwadi centre ‘Nand Ghar’ in Kashi Vidyapith, as an endeavor to make India malnutrition free.
Under this pilot launch, AAF would distribute the nutri-bar targeting almost 50,000 children daily across 1400 Anganwadi centers including Nand Ghars across three focus blocks of Varanasi- Sewapuri, Arajiline, and Kashi Vidyapith. With this, AAF aims to bring a positive nutrition impact by addressing malnutrition concerns among children aged 3-6 years in Uttar Pradesh. As a part of its thematic intervention on right nourishment, Nand Ghar, the flagship social impact project of AAF working towards child and women development, collaborated with Indian Institute of Millet Research (Nutri-hub, IIMR) through Troo Good.
The micro-nutrient rich millet bars provide adequate amount of protein, fiber and antioxidants which is required for the optimal growth and wellbeing of children and has been launched in tandem with the government’s initiative to promote millets in one’s daily diet.
Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel said, “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared 2023 as International Year of Millets, our government’s efforts have been to signify the importance of millet in developing nutritional healthy diet for every growing child and women. Such initiatives will not only address the importance of millet, but also help to cure several malnutrition related diseases, thus creating a positive impact on the community. It’s good to see cause-oriented organisations such as Vedanta and Anil Agarwal Foundation aid holistic nourishment of children by including millets. I also appreciate the efforts of Varanasi Administration for smooth execution of this intervention.”
Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc and Non-Executive Director of Vedanta said, “Vedanta’s vision to achieve zero hunger aligns with government’s POSHAN Abhiyan towards eliminating hunger and malnutrition from our country. Through this unique initiative, we aim to address the nutritional concerns amongst the children especially in the rural parts of India. These protein-dense millet bars are thoughtfully curated for children keeping in mind their nutritional needs, palate and preferences. We are thankful to IIMR and government of Uttar Pradesh in helping us commence this initiative as a small step towards creating a national movement.”
The recent Union Budget designated IIMR as a Centre of Excellence for sharing millet-related best practices and technologies globally and the nutrition intervention has been supported by the premier institute.
Dr B Dayakar Rao, Principal Scientist of Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) said, “Millet as a smart food, must be introduced to the rural landscape about its nutritional value and health benefits, including information on calorific content. I believe, millets are an important solution in the collective march towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Anil Agarwal Foundation has partnered with Hyderabad based Troo Good to develop the nutri-bar. Raju Bhupati, Founder and CEO of Troo Good said, “Troo Good is elated to partner with Anil Agarwal Foundation and the Government of Uttar Pradesh to combat nutritional deficiency amongst children with its proprietary Multi Millet Nutrition bar. This will help nourish and build a strong, healthy, capable, and competent next generation for the country. With this bar, we are rightly poised to support the millet mission of the country.”
The pilot intervention is expected to have a significant impact on the nutritional status of the children in the district of Varanasi and will be scaled up to other states gradually. Over the years, Vedanta has built many impactful CSR programs in India and is considered one of the most socially responsible corporations of the country. Its prime focus has been on children’s wellbeing and education, women empowerment, health care, sustainable agriculture and animal welfare, market-linked skilling of youth, environment protection and restoration, development of community infrastructure among others.
