A major national initiative to strengthen nutrition security through cooperative and corporate collaboration will be launched on 6 January 2026, with the inauguration of the CSR Conclave titled Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nutrition Security and Malnutrition Mitigation at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conclave is being organised by the NDDB Foundation for Nutrition and marks another step towards realising the vision of Sahkar se Samriddhi through cooperation-led development.
The conclave will be inaugurated by Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah and will focus on aligning the cooperative movement with public welfare and social development, particularly in addressing malnutrition among children. The initiative reflects the government’s priority to integrate cooperative institutions with national development goals through structured partnerships with the corporate sector.
The event will be attended by senior ministers, including Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, and Ministers of State from the Ministries of Cooperation, Civil Aviation, Minority Affairs, and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Senior officials from the Ministries of Cooperation, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Women and Child Development, along with leadership from the National Dairy Development Board, will also participate.
During the conclave, the third phase of the Giftmilk Programme will be launched under the CSR initiative of SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant. The programme will provide fortified flavoured milk enriched with vitamins A and D to around 4,000 children studying in government schools located in mining areas of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. The milk will be supplied through the Chhattisgarh Milk Federation managed by the National Dairy Development Board.
In addition, the Shishu Sanjeevani Programme will be launched under the CSR initiative of IDBI Bank. This programme will extend nutritional support to approximately 3,000 children attending anganwadi centres in rural areas of Nagpur district, Maharashtra. Shishu Sanjeevani is an energy-dense, ready-to-eat fortified nutritional supplement developed by the National Dairy Development Board and will be manufactured by the Bhandara Milk Union in Maharashtra.
Together, the two programmes are expected to benefit around 7,000 children, reinforcing the role of cooperative-led nutrition solutions in improving child health outcomes.
The conclave will serve as a national platform bringing together representatives from central ministries, public and private sector companies, dairy cooperative institutions, scientists from leading research organisations, and representatives from beneficiary institutions such as schools and anganwadi centres. The objective is to deliberate on innovative, scalable and sustainable models for eradicating malnutrition through coordinated public, corporate and cooperative action.
Following the inaugural session, two technical sessions will be held on Nutrition and Health Malnutrition Eradication through Public Interventions and Corporate Cooperative Collaboration for Nutrition Security. Around 1,200 participants from across the country are expected to attend the conclave, making it one of the largest national engagements focused on CSR-driven nutrition security.
The initiative underlines the growing emphasis on cooperative-led development as a key instrument for inclusive growth, social welfare and long-term nutrition security.
