ANANTAPUR : The Andhra Pradesh government and the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust have extended the Ragi Java (Ragi Malt) programme for another three years till April 2029 to strengthen nutritional support for students in government schools.
Minister for IT, Electronics, HRD and Real Time Governance Nara Lokesh and Managing Trustee of Sri Satya Sai Central Trust RJ Rathnakar exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a programme held in Vijayawada on Monday.
Appreciating the Memorandum of Understanding, Lokesh lauded the Trust for its continued commitment to the welfare of schoolchildren.
The Minister said the programme, inspired by the teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, focuses on improving the health and well-being of students. Officials said the initiative has benefited more than 30 lakh students in nearly 44,000 government schools across the State over the past three years.
Under the programme, the Trust supplies ragi flour and jaggery free of cost to schools for preparing a nutritious health drink daily.
Officials said ragi, which is rich in calcium, iron and dietary fibre, along with jaggery, provides an energy-rich nutritional supplement essential for growing children.
Teachers and school authorities reported improvements in student health, attendance and classroom engagement following implementation of the programme.
Officials said the extension reflects the government’s continued focus on holistic education and the importance of nutrition in learning and overall development.