The Amira Foundation - Karan A Chanana

  The Amira Foundation is a food education charity that aims to inspire people to connect with food and equip them with the knowledge and cooking skills to help make healthier eating choices The mission of the foundation is to educate both children and adults on healthy eating, with a focus on nutrition The charity is dedicated to empowering people with the knowledge to make smarter nutritional choices and educating them on food-related illnesses An extension of  Amira’s, ‘Food Connect’ vision, the Foundation will foster relationships and raise awareness of international hunger and nutrition, all through the common language of food  A Brief History of Amira  With a passion for purity that began a century ago, the Amira Group has been run by four successive generations of the Chananafamily since the company’s inception in 1905 Founded by BD Chanana, in 1915, as an agro-commodities trading house that bought and sold local beans and pulses in the Punjab region during the days of the British Raj This was taken over by his son KaramChandChanana, who re-established the company in New Delhi, after the 1947 Partition of India forced him to sell off the company’s assets He went on to quickly re -establish the firm as one of India’s major rice traders, in the newly independent company  Karam’s son, Anil Chanana, joined the company in 1968 when the company was called NavBharat, eventually taking over the company in 1978 It was during Anil’s time in charge of the business that the name was changed to “Amira” and the company began its rapid international expansion A company that has constantly embraced innovation; it was during Anil’s charge, in 1993, that the company introduced India’s first fully automated rice milling plant for  Amira’s rice milling plant in Gurgaon  In 2006, Anil passed leadership of the Amira Group over to his son, Karan A Chanana, the fourth generation Chananato lead the company, who has since led the company through their current era of impressive growth Since launching the Amira branded strategy in 2008, Karan has taken the company from strength to strength  Why the Amira Foundation?  2015 marks the centenary of the Amira Group, and with it the company will look back on our proud 100 year history The past 100 years have seen the Amira group grow from a modest agro-commodities trading house, to become a global corporation, currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange and with a turnover of over 500 million  This rapid rise has all occurred through spreading the joy of basmati rice, and other specialty packaged foods , across the world and it is in recognition of the good fortune food has brought the company that we were inspired to launch the  Amira Foundation, as a means of giving back    As we enter our second century, The Amira Foundation, which will be primarily focused towards food education, marks a key step for us by creating a platform through which the Amira Group can make a difference, raising awareness of diet-related illness and issues and promoting the importance of good nutrition