Akshaya Patra conferred upon the Nikkei Asia Prize 2016

New Delhi, 30 May 2016: The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prize to add to its rich credentials. Akshaya Patra is recognised for its contributions in the field of Economic and Business Innovation.Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation received the honour at the award ceremony of Nikkei Asia Prize on Sunday, May 29 in Tokyo. The winners have been awarded three million yen each along with a certificate by Naotoshi Okada, President, CEO of Nikkei Inc.
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasais attending the official dinner of the “Future of Asia” conference on the evening of May 30, 2016. Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzō Abe will be contributing his invaluable remarks to this event.
The Honourable Minister for Higher Education and Tourism, Karnataka R.V. Deshpandecongratulated theentire team of The Akshaya Patra Foundation on being honoured with Nikkei Asia Prize.
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa said,“I accept this honour and the prize of 3 million JYN, with a profound sense of gratitude to Nikkei Inc and with humility on behalf of our movement and for the benefit of those 1.5 million children whose lives has changed because of a wholesome meal day after day.”
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa also thanked the Government of India and all the State Governments for their continued support and encouragement. He added,“I would like to share this award with all my mentors, advisors, trustees, donors and friends and over 6000 staff members of the foundation who have given Akshaya Patra their valuable time, wisdom and support.”
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa stressed that people are not powerless to change this dire situation. “We can unleash the compensating force of compassion in the hearts of the rich to share their wealth, at least to meet the basic needs of humanity.It is only by promoting and awakening this virtue of compassion, and turning into action in human society, that we can make this world more inclusive, equitable and sustainable.”
Nikkei Asia Prize, an annual award, is instituted to recognise outstanding achievements contributing to sustainable development and for a better future of Asia. Since 1996, Nikkei Inc., one of the largest media corporation in Japan has been presenting the awards to honour people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: ‘Economic and Business Innovation,’ ‘Science, Technology and Environment’ and ‘Culture and Community.’Nikkei Inc. established these awards in 1996 in commemoration of the company’s 120th anniversary.