Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize winner 2014, and child rights activist delivered the Keynote Address at the inaugural session of the Development Dialogue 2015 conference held at the Deshpande Foundation in Hubli on 7th and 8th of February.

During his time at the conference Mr. Satyarthi also conversed with Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, and the two along with the Akshaya Patra team spent time exchanging ideas.

While discussing the work that the Foundation undertakes to provide food for education to children in India, Mr. Satyarthi said that he had indeed heard of Akshaya Patra, and that he believes the mid-day meal programme is an important undertaking by the Government. He also added that he will speak to the Government officials to strengthen and increase the budget allocation of the programme.

“We thank Kailash Satyarthi for his time and interest in our programme,” said Madhu Pandit Dasa.

Imagine what a grand opportunity it would be to spend an hour or two picking your favourite celebrity’s brain?

That’s the chance you get with Fly with VIP, an initiative that seats a lucky person beside a celebrity to chat and ask questions for the duration of a flight. The proceeds from this initiative will be donated to a charity of the celebrity’s choice. Akshaya Patra has been chosen as the beneficiary by Bollywood celebrities Amitabh Bachchan, R Balki, Akshara Haasan and Dhanush R!

Participants can vie for this opportunity in two ways: by bidding in an auction where the highest bid wins the seat, or by taking part in a lucky draw contest where each raffle ticket costs Rs. 100. The initiative also allows participants to place non-binding bids without any information regarding the celebrity’s flight date or sector. When the celebrity makes a travel plan, participants who booked in advance will take part in a one-hour long auction for the seat.

The auction for seats beside Amitabh Bachchan, R Balki, Akshara Haasan and Dhanush R for their flight on 2nd February from Mumbai to New Delhi closes on 30th January!

Click here to start bidding for the opportunity to spend time with your favourite star, and support a noble cause too.