In the Budget 2016, the total allocation to
the ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) was ₹17,408 crore. This
included ₹413 crore for funding the National Nutrition Mission, which addresses
the maternal and child malnutrition issues.
At present, the government looks after
pregnant women in the high-burden districts of India, these districts are
defined by their backwardness and their lack of basic facilities. But, the new
scheme will be for all families living below the poverty line across the
country.
This will ensure that children across the
country have equal chances for a healthy growth through access to good and
nutritious food.
The
Indian demography
India's population that stands over 1.25
billion is expected to become the world's most populous country, overtaking
China by 2022. A good percentage of the Indian population, though, does not
have access to all the resources are expected to live a very happy and healthy
life in the near future. However, currently, the impact of this lack of
resources is acutely experienced by the most vulnerable section of the society,
the children.
The school lunch provided by The Akshaya
Patra Foundation has ensured that no child is deprived of their basic need for
nutritious food. Feeding the children
is one of chief aims of the Foundation. The main aim is to free a child from
the shackles of hunger and help them focus in classroom. A child need not to
worry about a meal.
Power
of a full stomach
While a child may be deprived of the
required nutrition, it is not just the physical development that would be
affected, but also the mental development. A lack of adequate nutrition could
affect the intellectual growth because of the less number of micro-nutrients
that are necessary for the mental development.
Hence, ensuring adequate nutrition in the
food is important not just for an individual, but also for the country as a
whole. That is because today's young children are the future of the country.
Hence, it's extremely important to feed the children and ensuring they don't have
to worry about food, they will be able to focus on their studies alone. And,
mentally healthy children would grow up to be healthy adults and for a country
to have healthy citizens, this is imperative.
Future
Focus
The future is about knowledge economies. To
establish a country as a knowledge economy, it's necessary that its citizens
are knowledgeable and mentally healthy.
In the knowledge economy, it’s about the
intellectual prowess of the citizens of a nation that will define its success.
By using the collective intellect of the citizens, India will be able to stand
up and grow up to be a rich nation by being able to develop on all fronts.
Akshaya Patra, which plays a role in the
intellectual development of the country, is a channel for anyone to contribute
towards charity for children
who are in need. This will provide you a path to directly play a role in
ensuring a bright future for the country.