Road Transport and Highway ministry holds road show in Mumbai to unveil ambitious India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit

Mar 31, 2017: Logistics cost is the most important factor that effects trade and business of any country and the Indian government is working towards formulating an integrated, multi-modal logistics and transport policy which will reduce logistics costs by nearly half, increasing the competitiveness in the industry, said minister of road transport & highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari, at a road show in a run up to the India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit (IITLS), scheduled to be held from May 3-5, 2017.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is organising this one-of-a-kind global conference which will see stakeholders from around the world converge in Delhi between 3rd and 5th May 2017 to create a confluence of ideas and generate opportunities.

In the course to reduce logistics cost, the government is restructuring India’s logistics sector from a “point-to-point” model to a “hub-and-spoke” model involving railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to form an effective transportation grid.

“Transforming India’s logistics from a point-to-point model to a hub-and-spoke model will achieve reduction in logistics costs. The multi-modal infrastructure will also improve the logistics efficiency. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already undertaken several initiatives in this regard and these initiatives open up multiple investment opportunities,” said Gadkari.

Gadkari also asked stakeholders in the logistics industry to come up with innovative ideas which can increase efficiency in the sector and added that the government would be happy to act as a facilitator. He hoped that through engagement in the conference, global companies will have a clear vision of the vast opportunity that lies in India’s transport and logistics sector and will be interested in making monetary and technical investments to leverage it.

India’s economy is growing at a rapid pace with a growth rate of 6.6 percent. To support such rapid growth, in addition to the EXIM cargo, 2500 billion tonnes-km of domestic cargo is carried annually. Although India has a robust logistics network comprising of 5.32 million kilometres of roads and Asia’s largest rail network, an extensive maritime infrastructure and the 9th largest air network, it is not being able to leverage it due to poor modal share and inefficient logistics operations.

In order to improve this state of logistics, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to set up 35 multi-modal logistics parks in strategic locations which will cater to 50 percent of the freight movement. Additionally, the ministry is undertaking the Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Program (LEEP) with an aim to enhance 56,000 km of freight corridors. These corridors will have improved port and coastal connectivity along with electronic toll collection for seamless movement which will lead to 25 percent reduction in travel time and reduce the logistics cost by 10 percent.

Indian Railways has chalked out a 9-themed Action Plan, within which several initiatives are aimed at boosting freight movement on railways.

Ministry of Shipping is undertaking the ambitious Sagarmala project which encompasses 200 port-led development projects and will lead to deepening of draft and mechanization of berths, reduction in turnaround time, improved cargo handling and storage, etc.

“While ownership of road equipment may be fragmented and there could be large number of suppliers, overall, financial and operational management of transport could be under few companies to bring about scale, efficiency, safety, speed and higher revenues. This is a kind of cooperative concept with modern management and ports can take lead in triggering this reform,” said Rajeeva Sinha, Co-Chair CII National Committee on Ports and Shipping and Advisor - Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust.

The ministry expects that these initiatives, with proper support from global experts, can make India’s logistics sector cleaner, greener and more efficient.