Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Padma Shri to Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation on Tuesday at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Madhu Pandit Dasa was honoured with the recognition for the distinguished service rendered by Akshaya Patra for the children of India. On the occasion, he thanked the Government of India for the recognition. Dasa said, "I dedicate this award to Srila Prabhupada, a true visionary who wanted to see a hunger free world. This recognition shall give immense encouragement to the Akshaya Patra team to reach greater heights. It is our humble service of providing nutrition to the government school children through the Akshaya Patra programme. It is an inspiration for me and the entire team at Akshaya Patra to reach out to many more hungry children of this country. Quality food for these children is essential for quality education that will in turn create citizens who can think for themselves and help develop good character."