On October 30, 2015, experts from several organizations invited by Arogya World gathered in New Delhi to discuss and develop MyThali, a new nutritional icon based on the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) guidelines for India. The meeting was sponsored by a grant to Arogya World from the Cigna Foundation.

The main purpose of the multi-stakeholder meeting was to discuss and agree on a pictorial representation of NIN guidelines that was easily understood by consumers, similar to “MyPlate” in the US. The group universally agreed that MyThali has the potential to help India resolve the dual burden of nutrition – both obesity (a leading factor in chronic disease), as well as under-nutrition.

Representatives from the following organizations participated: National Institute of Nutrition, Public Health Foundation of India, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, other academic institutions, UNICEF, Akshayapatra, National Nutrition Coalition, APCO Worldwide, Ashoka, and Arogya World.

The meeting was moderated by Mr. Sukanti Ghosh from Apco Worldwide. Dr. Raghunatha Rao from NIN, a key expert, led the technical discussions. Dr. Nalini Saligram from Arogya World presented key learnings from the U.S. MyPlate experience. Dr. Monika Arora from PHFI provided the pace-setting talk on the Non-communicable Disease (NCD) situation in India and Dr. Shubhada Kanani formerly from University of Baroda and currently a consultant with Arogya World, provided the background on the nutrition scenario in India.