Kids at govt schools to get to enjoy nutritious milk

Flavoured milk

Over 42,000 children from government and aided schools will get to savour a flavoured and multivitamin ‘health drink’ from Thursday, thanks to two private trust introducing it.

Adamya Chetana Trust, in association with Sri Satya Sai Annapoorna Trust, based in Muddenahalli in Chikkaballapura district, is introducing a ‘Sai sure multivitamin micronutrition powder’, which will be mixed with the milk provided to the kids twice a week under Ksheera Bhagya scheme.

The scheme has already been introduced in few districts, including Chikkaballapura, Ramanagara, Mandya, Kalaburugi, Tumakuru and Bengaluru Rural.

In Bengaluru, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar will launch the scheme on Thursday.

“Following the positive result of the powder on children’s health, we submitted the post-health analysis report to the state department of primary and secondary education, which decided to extend the scheme further,” said Anand Kumar, general secretary of Sri Satya Sai Annapoorna Trust.

The scheme was first introduced in Chikkaballapura district on a pilot basis. After a year, the haemoglobin level in the kids saw an improvement. Encouraged by the development, the trust sought the education department’s permission to extend the scheme to other districts.

The powder comes in chocolate and almond flavours.

“It is just a powder, unlike any other health drink mix the kids consume at home. Here our partners will mix the powder with hot milk and supply it to schools directly,” said Kumar.

This nutritious powder has got the clearance from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). A group of 20 nutritionists and paediatricians also recommended some improvement to the powder. “Based on the suggestions, we prepared a formula,” Kumar added.

Meanwhile, Sri Satya Sai Annapoorna Trust has already implemented the scheme at schools in some parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.