The Food Ministry of India has unveiled “Anna Chakra,” a technology to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) food grain supply chain across states. This tool is expected to save about ₹250 crore annually in transportation costs for the impoverished people who receive free wheat and rice.
What Is the ‘Anna Chakra’ Tool & What Are Its Benefits?
This system was created in partnership with IIT Delhi and the UN’s World Food Programme in India. It optimises the movement of food grains throughout India’s logistical network by utilising highly advanced algorithms.
Further, through this pilot project that was implemented in 30 states and Union Territories, the government claims that route optimisation from Food Corporation of India godowns to ration stores cut distance by 15–50%.
The program covers 4.37 lakh Fair Price Shops and 6,700 warehouses throughout 30 states, with an estimated 81 crore beneficiaries. Its goals include a decrease in quantity-kilometre metrics of ₹58 crore and an annual cost savings of ₹250 crore.
Union food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said this initiative is a big adjustment to an established practice that has been carried out without being re-examined. The modification concerns the routes that trucks and other vehicles use to transport food grains from FCI godowns to state godowns and fair price shops (FPS), as reported by The Times of India.
In addition to increasing productivity and lowering costs, the use of these optimised delivery routes also benefits the environment by lowering carbon emissions linked to transportation.
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More About Public Distribution System
A government initiative called the Public Distribution System manages food scarcity. It also provides food grains to households and society at reasonable rates.
The Central Government is in charge of acquiring, storing, transporting, and also allocating food grains in bulk through PDS. It is a cooperative effort between the Central and State/UT Governments. Allocation within states, identifying eligible households, issuing ration cards, and also overseeing fair price shops are among the operational duties of state governments.
Furthermore, with the goal of streamlining workflow automation and accelerating settlement procedures through rule-based processing, Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Food, Public Distribution, New & Renewable Energy, and Consumer Affairs, has introduced the SCAN portal, a single-window system for states to file and manage food subsidy claims, guaranteeing end-to-end automation.
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