Rajasthan's food and civil supplies principal secretary Bhaskar Sawant is using technology to the hilt to save expenses incurred in transportation of grains across the state.
The state government incurs ₹175 crore every year for transportation of 2.7 million tonnes food grains from 26 depots to more than 26,000 fair price shops in the state.
With the adoption of new route optimisation technology, the state government will save around ₹17 crore per year in transportation.
What is route optimisation technology?
Rajasthan government has embraced modern technology to reduce leakage and revolutionise the food supply chain. The state is working on a software in which district wise location of each depot and fair price shops is embedded. The department uses this software to locate depot and all near by fair price shops where the food grains are to be sent.
“Earlier a depot in Udaipur used to transport food grains to a fair price shop located in Jaipur which would incur luge cost. Now with the software all fair price shops are earmarked with respective depots in that particular district saving transportation cost,” said a senior officer of food and civil supply department.
He said that the cost can further be reduced by 17% if the location of depots and fair price shops are plotted against each other, division wise.
“We are working on further optimisation. This will also help streamline the logistics and cut down on transportation time,” he said.
The officer further said that the use of modern technology will bring transparency in the supply chain.
“Every vehicle will be fitted with GPS devise for real time monitoring of vehicle movement, adherence to predefined routes and prompt notification of any deviation or delays to concerned authorities.
“This will ensure timely delivery, enhanced transparency and leakage reduction,” he said.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
