The countdown for the FIATA World Congress 2018, which is scheduled to take place from September 25-29 in New Delhi, has begun with commencement of formal registration procedure at the 56th FIATA World Congress held from October 4-8, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) has kick-started the campaign and registration for the forthcoming ‘FWC-2018’, happening for the first time in India. Welcomed by Ashish Pednekar, Chairman, FFFAI and other office bearers/leaders of the Federation, the stall was inaugurated by YB Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Transport, Malaysia. The FFFAI stall spectacularly demonstrated Indian culture, tourist attractions and opportunities in logistics industry. Online registration through FWC 2018 website www.fiata2018.org will start very soon.

Strengthening its GoGreen mission, Blue Dart Express has piloted electric vehicles in Gurugram and will be subsequently inducted across Blue Dart country. This is another step towards operating its last mile e-tail delivery service with clean pick-up and delivery solutions. The launch was inaugurated by Sukhwinder Singh, Regional Head – North, Blue Dart. Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart says, “With the introduction of electric vehicles to our fleet, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint and move one step closer towards our GoGreen mission.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Government of India unveiled three new highways routes worth Rs 8 lakh crore under the Bharatmala Pariyojna (BMP). Gadkari said that the ambitious programme of establishing a network of 42,000 km of roads and highways across the nation would be rolled out under three categories – Economic Corridors, Inter-corridor Routes and Feeder Routes.

Vaibhav Vohra, Managing Director, Continental Carriers, was awarded with the prestigious ‘Face of the Future’ award. After completing his graduation in Entrepreneurship and Finance from Babson College, Boston, USA, Vohra joined his family business and took a tough task of transitioning the first generation business culture to the third generation. His innovative thought process has brought about progressive changes within the organisation in a short span of time. He also initiated and successfully completed restructuring HRD and ERP implementation. Vohra’s positive initiatives have helped secure and align the future path that now enables his company to compete efficiently in the changed economic environment. His maturity and clarity of vision to provide strategic guidance would definitely help the industry in the future.

Samir H. Mankad, CEO & Executive Director, GSEC, was awarded the esteemed DDP Trailblazer. He has been serving the company right from the time of its privatisation in 2004. GSEC is the custodian of cargo in Ahmedabad. Under his leadership, GSEC operates airports at Indore and Visakhapatnam as an O&M operator, while also looking after the domestic cargo terminals at Indore and Raipur. Mankad is a Mechanical Engineer and holds an MBA and has more than 37 years of experience in project management, MIS, systems and logistics. He has served in leading organisations like Bajaj Group, Alembic, Torrent and Adani Group. Mankad also devotes his time in teaching the management subjects in  institutions such as AMA, Nirma University, and more.

The esteemed ‘DDP Game Changer’ award went to Samir J Shah, Immediate Past Chairman, FFFAI; Partner JBS Group and Chief Mentor, JBS Academy. With 33 years of experience in international freight forwarding and customs, Shah is a part of many national and international trade associations and chambers. Armed with BSC degree in Chemistry, an LLB and a senior Management Programme at IIM –Ahmedabad on Strategic Port Management, he has leaped on to become a partner in the JBS Group of Companies. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK and has been awarded a Certificate of Competence from FIATA.  He has conducted more than 150 programmes pan India for Customs related training to Exporters, Importers, Cutoms Brokers, Shipping Agents, Interntional Freight Forwarders, IATA Agents and Custodians. He is the only Indian to receive a certificate for continued support to port of Antwerp in India. Shah aims to set up supply chain and logistics education centre’s at various cities in Gujarat and other parts in India to make education accessible across the length and breadth of the country.

M. Afzal Malbarwala, Managing Director, Galaxy Freight, was awarded with the prestigious ‘Gallery of Legends’ award. With his rich experience in the freight forwarding industry, he has taken Galaxy Freight to a top position in airfreight and sea-freight industry. Malbarwala strongly believes that success is the product of competitiveness and high standards of quality. The Honorary Secretary General of ACCAI, Malbarwala, is a Commerce graduate and has a genuine, persuasive and interpersonal style that ensures trust to strengthen relationship among clients. He started his career in 1977 in the freight forwarding and logistics industry and started his own company soon after. Galaxy Freight handles approximately 1000 tonnes of airfreight export shipments per month. With more than four decades of experience in the freight forwarding industry, Malbarwala has developed the ability to adapt and cater to different client requirements; thereby, delivering hassle-free solutions.

The third edition of the India Cargo Awards – West & South celebrated the accomplishments of the extraordinaire leaders of cargo industry from the West & South regions of India at Crowne Plaza Ahmedabad City Centre on October 14, 2017.  Gautambhai Navalchand Shah, Mayor, Amdavad Municipal Corporation, was the Chief Guest for the glorious evening. The ceremony saw the august presence of Dr. Marisha Kaul, Gladrags Mrs India North 2017, along with the leaders of the cargo industry. India Cargo Awards honoured the real runners of the industry. The 32 winners were chosen after a fair and unbiased selection process which includes an online voting platform.

Ramesh Mamidala, Chief Executive Officer, Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management has appointed to the TIACA Board of Directors. “I am so honoured and feel privileged to serve on the TIACA Board, which I believe will give me an opportunity to integrate the Indian air freight industry with the global market through TIACA. The association will be able to reach out to the industry players in India, which I am confident will lead to several of them joining the organisation.”

To support local businesses and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) looking to expand trade with the global marketplace, UPS has opened a facility in Hyderabad. Located at Begumpet, the facility is easily accessible for walk-in retail customers. UPS will provide integrated services for small package, supply chain solutions and contract logistics for faster and more efficient access to international markets. The new facility is part of the continuous investment into UPS’s global integrated network which moves three per cent of the world gross domestic product (GDP) across 220 countries and territories daily.