The project was launched on August 10, 2015 and the launching ceremony was attended by over 3000 stakeholders, ranging from academicians to farmers. The gathering was addressed by the Hon’ble Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh; Shri Ram Kripal Yadav, Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation; Dr S Ayyappan, Secretary DARE and DG, ICAR; Dr Martin Kropp, GM, ADM Institute, India; Dr R K Mittal, Vice Chancellor, Rajendra Agriculture University; Dr K. Alagsudaram; Dr Robert Easter, President Emeritus University of Illinois, USA; Dr Narender Ahuja, Director, ITRA; Dr Prasanta K Kalita, Director, ADM Institute, University of Illinois and Dr H S Gupta, DG BISA. It was highlighted that annually 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally. In India about 10% of the food produced is loss of which 6% is due to inadequate storage facilities. University of Illinois with considerable experience in the post-harvest management has joined hands with renowned Indian institutes to develop technologies suitable for the region and build capacities of the farmers. The project will aim at two major cereal crops, namely rice and maize. The losses will be quantified for various stages of supply chain followed by identification of suitable grain processing techniques; quality evaluation and market penetration to establish supply chain paths to enhance food quality and reduce losses.