Dear Reader,
Recognising the significance of the logistics and cargo sector as one of the biggest growth-driven sectors in the country, the government has launched the new, integrated logistics and air cargo policy to bring down the cost of air logistics. It seeks to make India one of the top five air freight markets in the world by 2025. The objective of the National Integrated Logistics Policy (NILP) is to focus on increasing the capacity of storage, warehousing, and other value-added services for the industry. With a region-wise focus, the government is leaving no stone unturned in improving infrastructure in some of India’s key, yet undeveloped regions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge, the Bogibeel Bridge, that will not only boost logistics in India’s Northeast, but will also be a big boost to defence logistics, as it will provide swift connectivity to areas near the India-China border. It’s not just the government but the private sector, too, which has extended its support to the northeastern states of India. In another recent development, the dedicated freighter service of SpiceXpress between Guwahati and Hong Kong will provide huge opportunities to the Northeast regions and allow them to expand their reach to international markets. The government is also actively developing multimodal logistics parks in the country. The recently-opened MMLP at Jharsuguda has been built to facilitate export-import and domestic cargo, including private freight traffic, and to serve a number of key industries such as steel, cement and paper, which are located around the facility and will be benefitted from it. Another first in the series of reforms was the maiden coastal voyage of a vessel of Container Corporation of India, from Kandla Port to Tuticorin via Mangaluru and Kochi. The combination of railways and coastal shipping will release the burden on railways and provide them greater capacity to carry other goods and facilitate the transport of more commodities such as steel and cement, as well as other general cargo through coastal trade. This will help enhance the coastal trade basket. We do hope the industry continues to receive this much-needed impetus to help it grow further.