Budget comes with a strong assurance to boost education

Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

The Union Budget 2019-20 comes with a strong assurance to boost education, agriculture and other social sectors and will serve to be an efficient medium of country’s development journey. The comprehensive 10-dimensional Vision for the Decade, in particular, is commendable and we are certain that it will play a crucial role in the nation’s pursuit of Global Developmental Goals.

As the implementing partner of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, the Government’s initiative to bring children closer to school, we look forward to the New National Education Policy that seeks to reform schools and higher education through better governance. In doing this, the policy will ensure that children are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to carve a better future for themselves and at the same time, contribute to the nation’s socio-economic development.

We also welcome the move to converge the Jal Jeevan Mission with other Central and State Government Schemes to provide access to safe drinking water to all. This move will serve to boost various Government initiatives aimed at nutrition welfare and make a strong case for the convergence of welfare schemes to maximize their impact.

With respect to the role of women’s participation in our progress as a nation, we appreciate the Government’s introduction of various programmes to support and encourage women entrepreneurship.

As the implementing partner of the MDM programme, we are committed to supporting the various initiatives aimed at the well-being and development of children and will continue to extend our services by providing safe, hygienic, nutritious, and quality meals to our beneficiaries.

The author is the Vice-Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation.