India asks Pepsico to make 107 million school lunches healthier

India’s government is seeking help from an unlikely partner to feed millions of its hungriest children: PepsiCo Inc, the world’s largest snack maker.

The nation’s three-month old government asked PepsiCo to develop nutritious processed foods to be included in school lunches around the country, food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Tuesday after a meeting with Pepsico chief executive officer Indra Nooyi.

The government’s Midday Meals programme feeds more than 107 million children each day, though widespread corruption and lack of oversight have led to dozens of deaths of schoolchildren in recent years. Almost 900 million Indians hover just above starvation while falling short of being well-nourished, according to government data. I suggested to them to research and develop products which will be healthy and will also contain proteins, Badal told reporters in New Delhi, following her meeting with Nooyi. As people are becoming busy, the children will be immensely benefited if such products are launched.

Children in government-run schools in India get lunches that comprise a combination of rice, bread, lentils, vegetables and eggs, cooked according to local custom. The government gives grain and money to local women’s groups to cook the hot meals.