An annual waste of ₹1.55 lakh crore of food in India is an enormous waste of money and inefficiency of the food system.

Each year, food waste amounts to approximately 78-80 million tonnes, which puts India at the top of food-wasting countries of the world.

The United Nations Environment Programme points out that people experience food waste at various stages, such as production, storage, transportation, preparation, and consumption.

Quite a sizeable amount of waste is at the household level; people are discarding food that is edible regularly.

Lack of proper infrastructure in the form of cold storage and transport causes spoilage of fruits, vegetables and perishables.

India experiences a loss or wastage of 30 to 40 per cent in its food supply chain.

Landfill-related greenhouse gases, particularly methane, exacerbate climate change because food products are a source of such gases.

Millions of people are still hungry, and the difference exists between production and distribution, even though there is surplus production.

Wastage of food also results in wastage of water, land and energy resources that are utilised in production.

Insufficient knowledge and population habits, especially in cities and social gatherings, aggravate food waste.

India does not have an overarching national policy that aims at minimising food waste.

Less food waste helps to enhance food security, alleviate hunger, and succeed in sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The expressway is a six-lane (expandable; can hold 213 km long) access-controlled highway that allows fast and safe movement between Delhi and Dehradun.

It saves time significantly by cutting down on travel hours, which would otherwise take 5-6 hours but only about 2-2.5 hours, and is one of the quickest in the route in North India.

The project, which costs about 12,000 crore, is a significant infrastructure project of the Government of India.

The expressway begins in the vicinity of Akshardham in Delhi and runs through some of the important districts such as Baghpat, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, and Saharanpur before arriving at Dehradun.

It falls within the larger Delhi-Dehradun economic corridor, enhancing connectivity between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

It is hoped that the project will relieve congestion on the NH-58 and other highways that are in operation, easing congestion on the available routes.

One of the highlights is a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor along Rajaji National Park, allowing animals to move in a safe environment.

It has smart traffic systems and modern gadgets associated with safety, making the expressway efficient in traffic management, and accidents are minimised.

It will help increase tourism to favourite tourism spots such as Mussoorie and Dehradun, which will improve local economies.

The corridor will also drive economic growth, enhance logistics and connectivity, and create investment opportunities in the area.

The project team has considered eco-bridges, underpasses, and green design aspects along the route to achieve environmental sustainability.

The expressway is an overall game-changing infrastructural initiative which has revolutionised the travel experience and enhanced the growth of the region in North India.