Pune, April 7 2026: Strengthening the fight against classroom hunger, Deutsche Bank and The Akshaya Patra Foundation have inaugurated a state-of-the-art centralised kitchen in Shivajinagar, Pune under the Government of India’s PM POSHAN initiative.

The facility will provide hot, nutritious mid-day meals to 25,000 children across 29 government and government-aided schools, aiming to boost attendance, improve nutrition, and support learning outcomes.

Spread over 20,000 sq. ft., the kitchen is built to high standards of food safety and efficiency. Meals will be delivered within a 20-kilometre radius using electric vehicles, integrating sustainability into large-scale social impact.

The inauguration was led by Deutsche Bank India & Emerging Asia CEO Kaushik Shaparia and Global Head of Corporate Affairs & Strategy Benjamin Alka, alongside Akshaya Patra leadership including CEO Shridhar Venkat.

“This kitchen reflects our belief that no child’s education should be compromised by hunger,” said Shaparia, noting that the partnership has now surpassed 100 million meals served.

Calling the kitchen a “commitment to the child and the classroom,” Venkat highlighted the role of public-private collaboration under PM POSHAN in scaling nutrition access.

Deutsche Bank has partnered with Akshaya Patra since 2014, supporting mid-day meals for nearly 500,000 children across multiple cities. The Pune kitchen marks another milestone in their shared mission to build a nourished and educated India.