GS PAPER II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context: Dr Harsh Vardhan will launch a new mission called `Aahaar Kranti’

About Aahaar Kranti’:

• The mission is aimed to spread the message of the need for a nutritionally balanced diet and to understand the importance of accessible to all local fruits and vegetables.
• Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) and Global Indian Scientists’ and Technocrats’ Forum (GIST) have come together to launch the mission with the motto of उत्तम आहार-उत्तम विचार (Uttam Aahaar Uttam Vichaar) or `Good Diet-Good Cognition’.
• Studies estimate that India produces as much as two times the amount of calories that it consumes.
• However, many in the country are still malnourished. The root cause of this strange phenomenon is a lack of nutritional awareness in all sections of our society.
• The United Nations has also declared 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, which vibes very well with Aahaar Kranti.
• Fruits and vegetables make a large part of a balanced diet.
• UN sustainable goal # 3 that emphasizes on human well-being reads, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”
• India has the unique advantage of having the knowledge of Ayurveda.
• It is time to also apply this rich knowledge of Ayurveda-based nutrition to practice. The movement will work on this too.
• The movement proposes to address the current situation of hunger in abundance by working to rouse the people to the values 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 – उत्तम एवं संतुलित आहार (Uttam evam santulit aahaar) replete in locally sourced fruits and vegetables.
• The programme will focus on training teachers, who, in turn, will pass on the message to the multitudes of students, and through them to their families and finally the society at large.
• Such a strategy was adopted for the eradication of Polio and it turned out to be a grand success.
• The mission will work on multiple dimensions
• In terms of objectives, it will seek to promote better awareness, better nutrition and better agriculture; the content will be provided both online and offline and in all vernacular languages besides English and Hindi to reach out to as many as possible.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1711185

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