diff --git a/smartassist/src/backend.py b/smartassist/src/backend.py
index 9b66812..a02f1e0 100644
--- a/smartassist/src/backend.py
+++ b/smartassist/src/backend.py
@@ -6,16 +6,20 @@ from flask_cors import CORS, cross_origin # CORS stands for Cross-Origin Resourc
 import requests
 import json
 import logging
-from utils import set_local_logger
+# from utils import set_local_logger
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__) # Separate logger for this module
-set_local_logger(logger) # Set log level for logger
+# set_local_logger(logger) # Set log level for logger
 logger.debug("Logging level of backend logger has been configured")
 
 # Initialize a Flask application
 app = Flask(__name__)
 app.config['STATIC_FOLDER'] = 'static' # Adjust if needed 
 
+@app.route('/')
+def index():
+    api_endpoint = os.environ['BE_API_ENDPOINT']  # Retrieve the environment variable 
+    return render_template('index.html', api_endpoint=api_endpoint)
 
 @app.route('/<path:filename>')
 def serve_static(filename):