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India’s ‘Anna Chakra’ initiative named global finalist for prestigious Franz Edelman award
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Saturday, 31 January, 2026, 16 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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The Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) has been named among six global finalists for the 2026 Franz Edelman Award for its innovative initiative “Anna Chakra”, a data-driven solution designed to strengthen India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) through advanced logistics optimisation. The Franz Edelman Award, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of Operations Research and Analytics,” recognises world-leading applications of analytics that deliver tangible impact in societal, economic and operational outcomes.
Developed through a Government–UN–Academia partnership involving the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in India and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), Anna Chakra is an operations research-based decision support system that optimises state-specific logistics for the nation’s food grain supply. It uses advanced optimisation models to improve the efficiency of food grain movement across the PDS supply chain, which serves over 81 crore beneficiaries — including India’s most vulnerable populations — through ration distribution.
Since its national rollout, Anna Chakra has delivered significant outcomes, including estimated annual savings of Rs 250 crore, a 35 % reduction in emissions — contributing to India’s climate goals — and notable efficiency gains in the supply and distribution of essential food grains. These performance metrics have positioned the initiative as a model of analytical excellence that can be scaled and adapted in other public systems reforms worldwide.
Earlier in January 2026, the project also won the CDSA ORSI excellence in management science and analytics practice award at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, reinforcing its impact at both national and international levels.
Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary of the DFPD, said the recognition reflects the power of scientific methods and partnerships in transforming public systems. The winner of the 2026 Franz Edelman Award will be announced at the INFORMS Analytics plus Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, USA from April 12–14, 2026.
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