 Keshav Valasi from Mechanical Engineering Department of Valchin Institute of Technology, Solapur. In today's session, we will discuss about introduction and history of operations research, which in brief normally written as war. Talking about the learning outcomes of this session, at the end of this session, students will be able to understand the basics of operations research as well as brief history of operations research. Now, what is war? Very briefly, if we see, it is basically a decision making tool with the management, the top level people in any organization, it may be a manufacturing business or service business there, what are the decisions top management people are supposed to take for them or serves as a decision making tool. Here we have got different analytical methods or we can say different war models looking to our particular situation, looking to a given industrial environment, looking to the data that we have. We can choose any model or any method in war and apply it to the given situation. After applying a model and when we solve it, it offers us what is called as optimum solution. Now, you need to really focus on what is the meaning of optimum. This optimum may not be the best all the time, that is very, very important. What I mean is sometimes the situations could be so, that if we do not apply any war technique say, then probably we may not have any solution, wherein the situation could be very worst. So, under such circumstances war helps you to have some solution and that is the meaning of it may not be based, but put in other terms bad is definitely better than worst. So, in that sense war offers us some of the other solution and that depending upon the situation we may aim at maximizing some parameters or minimizing some parameters. For example, if we are dealing with profit kind of situation, revenue, income types of things, we may intend to maximize that. Conversely, if it is cost, distance, times, such parameters, then we may have our objective function or aim at minimizing the final solution. Different authors have given different definitions about operations research, but I would expect you people to focus on the keywords which are highlighted here in red color and you will observe that almost some keywords are used with little different style of putting it and then combining with a statement form. So, first definition if we see it says there is an application of scientific methods or techniques and tools. So, this highlighted thing you noted properly. Some tools techniques to problems involving any organization they have problems associated with their activities with their operations in any system may be manufacturing or otherwise. So, as to provide those in the control of the system with see again the wording optimum solution to the problems. So, optimum solution different tools and techniques and problem solving regarding their activities or operations. These are the keywords and similarly if we look into the second definition, it is also says like operations research is a tool again the word tool is coming for making decisions. So, as we have seen earlier it is a decision making tool put in some different style of statements which is searches for the optimum results again optimum word is coming and further you can correlate with some situation results in parity with the overall objectives and constraints of the organization. Now, objective is something which we want to achieve as we have said either profit maximization or cost minimization types of objective functions we may deal with and constraints are nothing but the practical limitations or a restrictions on the resources. Next again just for example, I have given three additional definitions it is a scientific method of providing executive department with quantitative basis of decisions regarding operations activities under their controls and then their purview in their domain. So, that is all the definitions if you see some common terms are there and these common terms I expect you people to look into more clearly and understand it. So, if you see any book you will find lots of definitions just for reference I have given here five definitions and I expect you people to think for a while regarding some industry or some organization maybe it is a manufacturing or service type but think of some organization and try to relate these major keywords that we are just discussed from the definition. Now, let us talk in brief about the history of operations research. After the World War I was over Britishers maybe they had some judgment like probably if again the second World War comes up then how should we win the war that was the one main question these British Air Force and their authorities they had in their mind. So, after World War I and before the beginning of World War II these authorities from military British military forces they thought of to have a research related to their military related operations and they had an idea of deploying different resources in military at different geographical locations first to win the war. So, if you remember during second World War also the Britishers have used lots of Indian people to fight during World War II against different nations. So, looking to what are the resources they could manage at that time how based and how optimally these resources can be used so as to win the war remember I repeat again this was the situation with these military authorities from British people after World War I I repeat again and before the beginning of World War II wherein they were planning to win the war if at all it comes up the second World War if it comes up which maybe they had some insight at that time. And with this they invited the academicians and research people and they gave them the problem like yeah this is the situation we have to win the war you know it was something funny situation wherein academicians and the people who were working with paint paper kind of a thing and those intellectual peoples not having any exposure to the war field were put to win the war kind of situation was there and they all were surprised, but once the things were clear with repeat meetings and the discussions they had the basic aim of optimizing the consumption of military resources and slowly the steams kept on working and they came out with some models and these models were utilized by British people during World War II. So this is how war got developed during second World War so to be very precise after World War I they thought of and they planned it how can we win if upcoming second World War happens and with this lots of techniques maybe they were not named as today they are named but some mathematical models and techniques were developed during World War II so the evolution of war or the history feed talk it begins with World War II winning of World War II and optimizing the resources in the military that was a basic idea later on when the war was over again as well Americans were very smart enough to take those developed techniques in British army and air force people those techniques were taken by Americans in their industry so they thought of to implement apply these readily developed techniques into their industries and that is how war got into industry and then further developments were taking place all the time as you know as time passes developments are always there and around then maybe 1960's or so maybe Americans have put their curriculum updated with this war as a subject and in India if you think of around in 1972 it was put up in then Bombay University production diploma course and slowly it was put up in management courses and now across the globe it is clubbed with industrial engineering and operations research so that is how this is a history of operations research wherein it began with World War II and over the passage of time in tourist context after the World War II and all those things are over hundreds of new techniques have been optimization techniques have been added up to this field of operations research so this is in all the history of war we have and these are the three books normally I refer one is by Hamdi Taha second is by S.D. Sharma and third by Hira Gupta otherwise there are lots of resources as you all know on the internet and out of them all Hamdi Taha is quite widely used across the globe even in many many institutions also thank you