Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will sponsor free meal for 1,000 underprivileged children under the Annamrita Midday Meal Scheme of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), an official in India said on Monday, reports Hindustan Times.

Her decision came on the occasion of her 44th birthday - which was celebrated on November 1 - which will be of immense benefit to the children, said ISKCON head Radhanath Swami Maharaj.

He said the Annamrita Foundation's midday meal scheme was launched in 2004 from a small room with 900 meals and has now grown to over 1.20 million children in seven states, trough 20 hi-tech ISO certified kitchens, the Hindustan Times reports.

As per the current state policy, midday meal schemes are implemented only for students from classes 1 to 8 in 17 civic-run schools, but there is an acute need for meals for underprivileged students even in the higher classes, leading to the initiative. "However as there is an acute need for providing nutritious food to the underprivileged students of classes 9 and 10 we have started this unique initiative" said an official from the Education Department.