Vice President Naidu launches nutrition anthem

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday launched 'Poshan Anthem' aimed at giving an impetus to the nutrition movement in India.

The anthem has been composed and sung by noted singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan while the lyrics have been helmed by Prasoon Joshi.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said: "The aim of the POSHAN Anthem is to inspire people to join the movement to fight the scourge of malnutrition."

He also opined that "the anthem may be sung in as many regional languages as possible so that it becomes a song of the people. The overriding priority of all legislators, administrators, civil society activists and citizens must be to ensure that all children of the country get the best possible childhood."

The Vice President of India congratulated both artists and hoped that through this song the message of nutrition will reach each and every corner of the country.

Hailing the 1.3 million Anganwadi workers in the country as the "nutrition warriors and change agents" the Vice President said that "the song will lead to a nutrition revolution to transform India into a malnutrition free country by 2022."

He also appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Women and Child Development for using innovative tools to take the message of nutrition to all citizens of India.

The event was attended, among others, by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, MoS Women and Child Development, Debashree Choudhary, Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Rajiv Kumar, Secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development, Rabindra Panwar, Neerja Choudhary, convener of Citizens Alliance Against Malnutrition.IANS