Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, has launched “AahaarKranti”, a mission dedicated to spreading awareness about nutrition and accessible to all locally available nutritious food, fruits, and vegetables in India.
Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), ‘Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats’ Forum (GIST), Vigyan Prasar, and Pravasi Bharatiya Academic and Scientific Sampark (PRABHASS), have come together to launch the mission “Aahaar Kranti” with the motto of ‘Uttam Aahaar- Uttam Vichaar’ or `Good Diet-Good Cognition’.
The `AahaarKranti’ movement is designed to address the peculiar problem being faced by India and the world-`hunger and diseases in abundance’. Studies estimate that India produces as much as two times the amount of calories it consumes. However, many in the country are still malnourished. The root cause of this strange phenomenon is a lack of nutritional awareness, according to a PIB release.
The movement proposes to address the problem by working to rouse the people to the values and richness of India’s traditional diet, to the healing powers of local fruits and vegetables, and to the miracles of a balanced diet. It will renew the focus on nutritionally balanced diets replete in locally sourced fruits and vegetables.
While Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) and ‘Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats’ Forum initiated the programme, several other agencies have also joined hands and have agreed to pool in their expertise and resources. Besides various central and state government ministries and agencies, the Department of Science and Technology’s autonomous body VigyanPrasar, and Pravasi Bharatiya Academic and Scientific Sampark (PRABHASS), are a part of this collaborative effort. More organisations are in the pipeline to join the Mission as it proceeds.
Launching the initiative in virtual mode, the Union Minister said that it was apt that a social welfare programme like AahaarKranti is being launched as a public movement on the first day of Ma Annapurna’s Chaitra Navaratri.
“Today when the country is reeling under the onslaught of a pandemic like COVID -19, a balanced diet serves as a special tool to reduce the impact of the pandemic. At such a time, the need to create awareness about the importance of a balanced diet has become more vital than ever before”,Dr Vardhan said. He appreciated that overseas Indian scientists are at the forefront of the campaign. “It is a noble effort to take the message of balanced diet to every Indian. The Logo you have created for the programme is commendable and a slogan like ‘Good Diet – Good Thought’ brings all the countrymen together,” said Dr Vardhan.
He particularly mentioned the contributions of Dr Yelloji Rao Mirajkar, Dr Srinivasa Rao, and Praful Krishna of GIST who came together and initiated a discussion to give shape to the programme as a public campaign. “We know that you all have undertaken a gigantic task in your able hands. It has to be run for several years to reach the commonman like the Green & White Revolution,” Dr Vardhan added.