Launch of SaiSure – Fortified Ragi Malt for 2.5 million Govt. School Children of Telangana
Recognizing the crucial role of nutrition in combating anaemia and malnutrition, thereby promoting healthy growth among children, the government of Telangana aims to ensure that all government school students across the state receive a nourishing start to their day.
Going forward, 25 Lakh students of all government and local body schools across Telangana will be served hot and nutritious 250 ml “Ragi Java” as breakfast every alternate day. This Ragi Malt with Jaggery is fortified with nutrients and flavoured with other natural ingredients for taste to make it a wholesome breakfast.
This historic initiative was inaugurated by Smt. P Sabitha Indra Reddy, Hon’ble Education Minister of Telangana, respective district ministers, and MLAs on June 20th, 2023, to commemorate “Telangana Vidya Dinotsavam” as part of “Telangana Formation Day Decennial Celebrations,” also known as “Telangana Rashtra Avatarana Dashabdi Utsavalu”.
With the approval from PM Poshan Abhiyan Project Approval Board (PAB), the annual cost of the programme is estimated at Rs. 30 crores. The implementation will be undertaken in joint partnership by Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust with the government.
The launch programme in Jillalguda in Ranga Reddy district took place in the presence of Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy – Minister of Education of Telangana, Smt. Vakati Karuna IAS – Principal Secretary School Education Govt of Telangana, Smt. Devasena IAS – Director of School Education Govt. of Telangana, Mr. Prateek Jain IAS – Additional Collector, Ms. Anita Harinath Reddy – Zilla Parishad Chairperson, Ranga Reddy District.
The Trustees, Mr. Anand Kadali – Secretary & Trustee; Mr. Sai Prasad Ivaturi – Trustee and Treasurer; Mr. Jayaprakash Tallam, and Mr. Prabhakar Gupta, along with Telangana state in-charges Mr. Srikant Vooturi and Mr. Dhananjay Rao Ejapu, from Annapoorna Trust were present.
Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy – Minister of Education of Telangana, addressed the gathering and said, “Children come to school early in the morning, and we are not sure if they had something to eat at home or not. Hence, they are hungry and are always anticipating the mid-day meals, which are provided at around 1 pm. To resolve this, as per the instructions received from Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, our government has collaborated with Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust to provide Ragi cereal health mix with Jaggery during morning assembly in the schools. Despite this being an additional cost in crores, it is being decided to provide to children 3 days a week. We thank Mr. Anand Kadali – Secretary & Trustee of Annapoorna Trust, on this occasion.”
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Anand Kadali – Secretary & Trustee of Annapoorna Trust, highlighted the importance of nutrition and said, “This Fortified Ragi cereal health mix has all the required micro-nutrients like Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Iodine, Selenium and Copper along with Vitamins like Vit A, Vit B1, Vit B2, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B7, Vit B9, Vit 12 & Vit C. Similar 1kg Ragi available at medical stores may cost Rs.200/- which is otherwise provided free of cost to children with the support of the Telangana government and Annapoorna Trust.” He thanked Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy – Minister of Education of Telangana, Smt. Vakati Karuna IAS – Principal Secretary School Education Govt. of Telangana, Smt. Devasena IAS – Director of School Education Govt. of Telangana, for being at the forefront in supporting this initiative. “We have been providing morning nutrition to 7 lakh children for the last 7 years. Today, we are all very happy and delighted to have taken this initiative to the entire state of Telangana, serving 25,00,000 children in 33 districts. I look forward to continued cooperation and support from the government and education department in taking this forward efficiently,” he said.
Similar launches of Fortified Ragi Malt morning nutrition took place across all 33 districts of Telangana. Many ministers actively participated in the district-level inauguration. To name a few:
Mr. K. T. Rama Rao – Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development of Telangana in Rajanna Sircilla T. Harish Rao – Minister of Finance of Telangana in Siddipet
Mr. Allola Indra Karan Reddy – Minister of Endowments, Law, Forest and Environment, Science and Technology in Nirmal
Mr. G Jagadish Reddy – Minister of Energy Government of Telangana along with MLA Kancharla Bhupal Reddy in Nalgonda
Dr V Srinivas Goud – Minister of Prohibition & Excise, Sports & Youth services, Tourism & Culture and Archaeology, Government of Telangana in Mahbubnagar
Mr. S Niranjan Reddy – Minister of Agriculture and Co-operation of Telangana in Wanaparthy
Mr. Puvvada Ajay Kumar – Minister of Transport of Telangana in Khammam
Dr Sanjay Kumar – MLA of Jagtial in Jagtial
Mr. Jogu Ramanna – MLA of Adilabad in Adilabad
Mr. Sunke Ravi Shankar – MLA of Choppadandi in Karimnagar
Mr. Vanama Venkateswara Rao – MLA of Kothagudem in Kothagudem
Mr. Koneru Konappa – MLA of Sirpur in Komaram Bheem district
The employees and volunteers of Annapoorna Trust overlooked the proceedings in each of the districts in coordination with Education department officials. It was an incredibly happy occasion of celebration for all of us to be part of this mega launch in the state of Telangana.
The Trustees of Annapoorna Trust – Mr. Anand Kadali, Mr. Sai Prasad Ivaturi, Mr. Jayaprakash Tallam, and Mr. Prabhakar Gupta, along with Mr. Srikant Vooturi – Telangana state in-charge were felicitated in the evening session by Mr. Mahmood Ali – Home Minister of Telangana and Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy – Minister of Education of Telangana, held at Ravindra Bharathi auditorium in Hyderabad.
The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme is the largest national-level nutritional intervention programme providing free morning nutrition to over 3 million children attending 40,000 typically rural government schools located across 23 states and 5 Union Territories across India.
