The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) India and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have collaborated to develop innovative solutions for the government’s food safety nets through operations research, the institute informed. The collaboration aims to support governments in achieving food and nutrition security targets.
“The overall objective of this partnership is to use advanced analytics and operations research to develop practical solutions that support long-term strategic planning of procurement, storage, and movement of food grains by agencies such as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and at the same time create cost-effective supply chain networks for distribution of these food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) at the state level,” the IIT informed through an official statement.
This will be especially relevant for states such as Uttarakhand, where maintaining a consistent availability and supply of food grains year-round is a challenge due to factors such as difficult terrain, limited availability of transporters, restricted windows for transportation and disintegrated storage spaces, the IIT added.
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Through their research, both IIT-Delhi and WFP will work with the state and central government. The IIT and UN aim to optimise the supply chain and analyse important operational data such as current stocks, projected harvest yields and consumption figures. Through this research, the institutes will identify the challenges and offer solutions.
“This partnership is of strategic importance, as it combines expertise in on-ground implementation with research and development to further strengthen systems in terms of sustainability and accountability to impact the lives of millions of vulnerable people. We hope that the evidence generated under this collaboration not only supports other states in India but can also be replicated in the region,” Bishow Parajuli, Country Director of World Food Programme India, was quoted as saying by the IIT.
V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT-Delhi said, “IIT-Delhi has strong research activities in several relevant areas of research such as nutrition, Operations Research, Public Systems and Policy. IIT-Delhi also takes pride in the societal impact of its research and innovations, which is a core part of its vision and strategy. This strategic partnership is particularly important from this perspective and has the potential to result in advanced solutions for key problems of India and the world. It also manifests our intent to work closely with the government and other public agencies for systemic reforms. I am confident this partnership will showcase the extent of enhancements possible in our public systems when such partners join hands.”
Courtesy: The Indian Express
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