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PM Gatishakti National Master plan to be driven by 7 engines – rail, road, port, waterways, airports, mass transports and logistics infrastructure: Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State, Ports Shipping & Waterways, Government of India.
Logistics Beyond Boundaries: Reshaping Logistics Sector by focusing on technology going forward – Rishabh C. Kothari, President, MCCI
Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized MCCI Logistics Conclave 2022 today at Kolkata. The Theme of the Conclave was “Logistics Beyond Boundaries: Reshaping Logistics Sector”.
The Chief Guest of the Conclave today was Mr. Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State, Ports Shipping & Waterways, Government of India.
The Inaugural Session was addressed by the Special Guests, Mr. Hoe Yun Jeong, Deputy Country Director, Asian Development Bank and Mr. P. L. Haranadh, IRTS, Chairman, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata.
Mr. Rishabh C. Kothari, President, MCCI emphasized on the importance of Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP). He mentioned that the logistic cost in India is between 13 and 14 % of the GDP, which is very high. Countries like Germany and Japan, which are known for their highly developed infrastructure and systems for logistics, spend just about 8% to 9% of their GDP on logistics. He further said that in India, Investment in technology in logistics sector has been at a lower level when compared to many developed nations and he focussed on technology in re-shaping the Logistics sector.
Mr. Lalit Beriwala, Senior Vice President, MCCI mentioned that for boosting external trade through increased export of commodities like steel etc. as well as to meet the domestic requirements , urgent initiatives for development of riverine transport network by way of expanding the outreach of National Waterway-I are necessary. Connecting the NW-I to the existing riverine system for movement of goods to the states as well as for exporting goods to Bangladesh via Agartala at reduced cost and time in a seamless manner would lead to faster realisation of the goals set forth in the vision and in the Sagarmala Programme.
Mr. Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State, Ports Shipping & Waterways, Government of India mentioned that the world has accepted the PLI Scheme and National Logistics Policy will bring new dimensions to the scheme and engage all the sectors into the process. He mentioned that in Indian ports the average turn around time has been reduced from 44 hours to 26 hours and 33 Indian airports have cold storage facilitites. Waterways are the most cost-effective way of transport in logistics space, he added.
He mentioned that PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) launched in 2021 is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by 7 engines, namely Railways, Roads, Ports, Waterways, Airports, Mass Transport and Logistics Infrastructure. The scope of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is encompassing the 7 engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency.
The National Logistics Policy is intended to work in combination with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to develop an integrated infrastructure network in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The National Logistics policy is a comprehensive effort to address cost and inefficiency through setting up of an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional framework for the developing entire logistics ecosystem.
Mr. Hoe Yun Jeong, Deputy Country Director, Asian Development Bank mentioned about the efforts put in by the Asian Development Bank with the government of India such as the development of East-coast Economic development, North-East Economic Corridor, and integration of the logistics industry in the regional and global value chain. Since 2017, Asian Development Bank has been actively working with Indian government in the areas of multi-modal development policy and building of regional connects with south Asia. He further mentioned that ADB will engage with the government in Road and Highways development.
Mr. P. L. Haranadh, Chairman, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, lauded the initiatives of the government of India of implementing of PM Gati Shakti and National logistics Policy. He said that the EXIM cargo is the most important challenge. KoPT has developed maritime Vision 2030 focusing on modernization of the port, green port development, digitization of the port. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port has a capacity of handling 87 mn tonne of cargo and presently it is handing 60 mn tn of it. By 2030, the port is geared up to handle 110 bn tn cargo. The port authority is considering setting up a tunnel under Hooghly river through which cargo can move easily without interfering with the city traffic. He also informed that the port is trying to address the issues such as low draft, night navigation etc.
While speaking on the private investment opportunity, he mentioned that there are Rs 2400 crore of investment in the pipeline and it will be put into operation by KOPT by 2030. With the availability of 4000 acre of land bank to the Port, the authority is considering private players in the development of the port projects.
The Inaugural Session concluded with hearty Vote of Thanks proposed by Mr. Lavesh Poddar, Chairman, Council on Logistics, Transport & Shipping, MCCI
The Inaugural Session was followed by two engaging Sessions namely Session on Logistics & Supply Chain Management: Current Trends & Future Prospects and Session on Rail, Road, Port Connectivity: Connecting Neighbourhood.
Session on Logistics & Supply Chain Management: Current Trends & Future Prospects was addressed by Mr. Sanjiban Basu, East Regional Head- CRD, Blue Star, Mr. Sunil Agarwal, Managing Director, CTI Logistics Pvt. Ltd. & Dr. Jivisha Joshi Gangopadhyay, Deputy Secretary, Logistics Division, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
Dr. Jivisha Joshi Gangopadhyay, Deputy Secretary, Logistics Division, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India in her address highlighted the opportunities of National Master Plans: PM Gati Shakti and National Logistics Policy 2022. National Master Plan comprises 1500 confirmation networks and operates under Digital Base 2.0.Under National Master Plan, PM Gatishakti initiative would now route the total investment of over INR 500 cr. through Network Planning Group (NPG).
PM Gatishakti initiative is operating under horizontal coordination framework. The main of aim of PM Gatishakti initiative is to connect whole logistics sector through multimodal connectivity. Under this initiative, the Government of India has already initiated 2 projects under Bharat Mala and 21 new highway projects.
While Speaking on National Logistics Policy, Dr. Gangopadhay identified that National logistics Policy has been introduced to reduce the total logistics cost. Beside this, she added that under Unified Logistics Interface Platform the Government of India has also introduced 1600 plus API application for the logistics industries. There are already 13 states who have introduced State Logistics Policy under National Logistics Policy.
She also highlighted the benefit of Logistics Data Bank. With the help of logistics data bank, the industries now able to track the vehicles via ICD code.
Mr. Sanjiban Basu, East Regional Head- CRD, Blue Star in his address informed that 60% of the total cold storage capacity is concentrated in the states of Uttar-Pradesh and West Bengal and West Bengal has 5.9 million MT of Cold storage installation capacity. 92% of cold storage in India is operated by private sector. He further added that the Government of India has decided to build integrated cargo complex at major airports which will be equipped to handle all kinds of goods.
Mr. Basu also highlighted some challenges like lack of road infrastructure, continuity of the Cold Supply Chain and high capital investment. He also identified opportunities like new and high tech technology in cold storage, CA storage, IQF, ripening, etc., farm level storage solutions and new packaging technology.
The second technical session was moderated by Mr. Nimish Saraf, Council Co-Chair, Logistics, Transport and Shipping with Mr. Samrat Rahi, Deputy Chairman, KDS, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port; H.E. Mr. Eshar Raj Poudel, Consul-General of Nepal in Kolkata; Mr. Souma Sekhar Gangopadhyay, Logistics Consultant, DPIIT; Mr. Utpal Kanti Bal, Principal Chef Operation Manager, South Eastern Railway and Mr. Krishan Kumar Bansal, MD, DHTC India Ltd.
Mr. Rahi spoke about the drive towards port digitization, modernization and connectivity. He said that KoPT maintains 32 roads which were now being moved from bituminous to paver blocks; road widening and removal of encroachment along with road tunnel construction to bypass traffic congestion are also being considered. Existing rail lines were being strengthened to augment capacity and reduce traffic and inland water connectivity is being improved. Balagarh Port will be developed to act as a feeder for KoPT, he mentioned.
H.E. Mr. Eshor Raj Poudel lauded GOI for the Neighborhood First policy, the Transit treaty which connected India and Nepal via 15 points and mentioned that this greater connectivity would be augmented by Kolkata-Kathmandu flight connectivity.
