Rubal Jain, Managing Director, Safexpress was awarded the esteemed DDP Trail Blazer award. His innovative approach led him to enter new domains in the supply chain and logistics industry. Jain is the Founding Investor and Director of an eWaste recycling and reverse logistics start-up – Karma Recycling. Spearheading the development and rollout of an Oracle based ERP system for IT-enabled processes in Operations and Finance, he has also designed and implemented, competitive benchmarking and technical analysis programmes.

The coveted ‘DDP Game Changer’ award went to Ramesh Mamidala, CEO, Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India. Mamidala has been associated with the global air cargo and logistics industry for more than 20 years. He has rich experience in the aviation industry and has also successfully managed the transition of a new airport for Qatar Cargo while being the Head of Qatar’s Cargo Services in Doha.

SL Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, Skyways Group and Immediate Past President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) was awarded with the Gallery of Legends. He started his career in 1968 before starting his own venture in 1983. Today, Skyways Group ranks in the top five air freight companies of the country. With his rich experience in the industry, he held several positions in many trade associations and chambers, like ACAAI, and Delhi Customs Clearing Agents Association, to name a few.

The second edition of the India Cargo Awards – North & East, celebrated the accomplishments of the cargo industry of North & East India at Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon on October 13. Dr Renu Singh Parmar, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, was the Chief Guest and Vineet Pandey, Chief General Manager Business Development and Marketing Directorate, Department of Post, Ministry of Communication, Government of India, was the Guest of Honour at the event. The ceremony was attended by Anika Agrawal, Gladrags Mrs Exotic Beauty and leaders of the cargo industry. India Cargo Awards honoured the real runners of the industry. The 47 winners were chosen after a fair and unbiased selection process which includes an online voting platform. SL Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, Skyways Group and Immediate Past President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) was awarded with the Gallery of Legends. He started his career in 1968 before starting his own venture in 1983. Today, Skyways Group ranks in the top five air freight companies of the country. With his rich experience in the industry, he held several positions in many trade associations and chambers, like ACAAI, and Delhi Customs Clearing Agents Association, to name a few. The coveted ‘DDP Game Changer’ award went to Ramesh Mamidala, CEO, Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India. Mamidala has been associated with the global air cargo and logistics industry for more than 20 years. He has rich experience in the aviation industry and has also successfully managed the transition of a new airport for Qatar Cargo while being the Head of Qatar’s Cargo Services in Doha. Rubal Jain, Managing Director, Safexpress was awarded the esteemed DDP Trail Blazer award. His innovative approach led him to enter …

Mahindra and Mahindra has launched all-electric cargo and passenger vans under the brand name of ‘eSupro’ to serve primarily the business-to-business (B2B) segment. “The launch will usher in a whole new concept in emission-free cargo transportation and people movement. It will provide much-needed fillip to companies in the B2B and e-commerce segment,” said Pravin Shah, President and Chief (Automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra. The car-maker claimed that on a full charge, the new vehicles can run for up to 112 km, depending on load, and can achieve a top speed of 60 km per hour.

Sri Lanka has invited Indian companies to participate in its port development projects and other infrastructure building programmes. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister, Sri Lanka has discussed the prospects of Indian companies in building two to three Ports in Sri Lanka in his meeting with Nitin Gadkari, Union Shipping and TransPort Minister. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister wants Indian companies to develop a few Ports in Sri Lanka including Colombo Port. Gadkari conveyed his willingness to partner and cooperate in developing their Port and other infrastructure, a Road TransPort Ministry official informed. Indian subcontinent is playing a vital role in the business of Colombo Port accounting for 70 to 75 per cent of its trans-shipment business. Earlier, Gadkari had said that India is set to build a sea-bridge and tunnel connecting Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank is ready to fully finance a bridge building project connecting Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka.

Concerned over falling exports, the Indian government is planning container trains for import-export cargo. The first step will be to cut down the time taken to move freight traffic. Travelling from Delhi to Mumbai by Rajdhani takes 16 hours but when it comes to a container train, the same journey takes three times longer which increases the cost and makes it uncompetitive. The Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor, once ready, will cut the travel time drastically. But that will take another three years. Studies have shown that it costs almost the same to move goods from Punjab to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and from Mumbai to China. That gives a huge advantage to exports from Thailand or Malaysia, which are not just closer to China but have lower costs. The government is looking at ways to make transport costs much more competitive. A timetable will fix responsibility and ensure that trains don’t remain parked at a station for hours to push passenger trains.

The shipping ministry has acknowledged 37 of the recently notified 106 inland waterways to develop them for transport of cargo and passengers in the next two to three years. These include rivers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Assam and West Bengal. “Eight of these waterways have high potential and are financially viable for development. We have already initiated works for developing these waterways. The rest will be taken up in the next two phases,” said, Amitabh Verma, Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).

As a step of the joint business agreement between Lufthansa Cargo and Cathay Pacific Cargo, the air cargo carrier has moved its local freight handling into the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal (CPCT) in Hong Kong. The move took effect on October 1. This benefits customers of both carriers, with one single location for export drop-off and import delivery arrangements. As part of the JBA, both cargo carriers are working closely together on network planning, as well as sales, IT and service enhancements, and plan to transport the first shipment under the cooperation framework from February 1, 2017 – initially from Hong Kong to Europe. The ability to also book eastbound shipments from Europe to Hong Kong will then follow in 2018. The joint activities will be carried out in full compliance with all applicable laws, including the competition rules of the European Union and Hong Kong.

Commenting on how merger and acquisitions are beneficial for the logistics industry, Manish Gupta, Managing Director, RCPL Logistics, says, “It is going to be good for the industry. These new acquisitions will bring more advanced technology, more creativity and will improve the competitive position. We have so many restrictions in the Indian logistics industry; merger and acquisitions with the foreign companies will bring some change in the working culture. The combination of technology and funds will improve the quality of business in India.