India, UNDP Partner to Digitize Livestock Vaccine Cold Chain

New Delhi,May 20 (PTI) The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying on Monday signed a pact with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to digitise the supply chain for livestock vaccines to monitor the cold chain management process.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) aims to use technology like artificial intelligence to monitor vaccine storage temperatures and stocks in real-time across India's large network of livestock farms, an official statement said.

"With the digitalisation of the entire vaccine stock management system, the inequities in vaccine supply will be addressed," said Alka Upadhyay, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).

The vaccine cold chain management process will be monitored with the help of new-age technology and artificial intelligence through the Animal Vaccine Intelligence Network (AVIN) developed by the UNDP, she added.

The UNDP's resident representative in India Caitlin Wiesen said the move would strengthen animal health and mitigate risks at the human-animal-environment interface, with frequent zoonotic disease outbreaks and climate change leaving livestock increasingly vulnerable.

India has a livestock population of nearly 140 crore and the DAHD aims to vaccinate around 70 crore animals this year against foot-and-mouth disease alone, spending around Rs 900 crore.

Sarita Chouhan, a joint secretary at the DAHD, said real-time monitoring of the country's vast cold chain network would help manage and deliver quality vaccines at the right temperature across the country.

Besides the cold chain digitisation, the MoU covers technical assistance on livestock rearing practices, insurance planning and communication strategies for the DAHD's outreach programmes.