Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurates Public Systems Labs at IIT Delhi

New Delhi, September 2: Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal has inaugurated a Public Systems Lab (PSL) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi earlier this week. The institute has collaborated with the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) to establish the PSL for developing scalable solutions for civic systems and services that impact millions.

Facility survey of community service

Speaking at the inauguration, the union minister lauded the collaboration of UNWFP and IIT Delhi's Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT). Calling the collaboration a game changer, Goyal said that operations research, artificial intelligence, automation, and other techniques can be key pillars for a transformative change to make India a developed country.

"This Lab, which we have started today will be the harbinger of what PM Modi has articulated as the big vision of India, a developed nation. The PSL can play a vital role in multiple ways. The public food procurement and distribution are crucial programmes in which this innovation can contribute immensely. Today, India is talked of in the world as an emerging superpower, as a nation of startups, a nation of innovators, a nation meeting its SDGs in advance. This Public Systems Lab is a perfect example of innovation that will contribute towards the development of our nation and rid the country of corruption by bringing in efficiency in the Public Distribution System. Thanks to the WFP and IIT Delhi who have partnered in this very important and pathbreaking initiative", said Piyush Goyal.

Prof. Nomesh Bolia, Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi would lead the Public Systems Lab.

Public Systems Lab. UNWPF Bishow Parajuli, Representative and Country Director, says that the newly launched PSL will augment and strengthen the impact of public systems at scale.

"With major application domains ranging from Food and Health Systems to Public Transportation, the partnership between IIT Delhi and WFP India will develop innovative solutions, test them in the live environment, and support their scale-up across India and globally", said Parajuli.

Professor Rangan Banerjee, DirectorIIT Delhi also spoke at the event saying, "Our faculty and researchers have been applying cutting edge modelling, operations research and AI tools and techniques to improving the operations, control and efficiency of public systems. We are delighted that the Public Systems Laboratory will facilitate and enable our contribution to public systems and help us create a greater impact in society" Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi.

Under the three-year agreement, as a founding partner, the PSL will work closely with the WFP to identify projects around food systems and management and innovations, particularly those that involve Operations Research, Product development, data-based innovations & analysis, and other areas. One of the proposed initiatives includes a Public System Fellowship program under which the WFP and IIT Delhi will second experts to the Ministry of Food at the national level to support them in making the food-based safety nets effective and efficient using operations research and optimisation.