tate the seamless movement of airfreight in India, PM Narendra Modi launched the National Logistics Policy on September 17. Commenting on the same, Xerrxes Master, President, Association Of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI) said, “The National Logistics Policy is a revolution in the logistics industry. It will ensure a substantial reduction of logistics costs in India and improve logistics performance index ranking among the top 25 countries by 2030. In addition, it creates an efficient logistics ecosystem to ensure a resilient supply chain. The policy will be implemented through a Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP) via Integrated Digital Logistics Systems, Standardisation of Physical assets and benchmarking service quality standards, Logistics Human Resources Development and Capacity Building, State Engagement, EXIM (Export-Import) Logistics, Service Improvement Framework, Sectoral Plan for Efficient Logistics and Facilitation of Development of Logistics Parks. This well laid out strategy will ensure the desired results within the stipulated period.”

M Afzal Malbarwala, President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India shared his views on the recently launched National Logistics Policy and said it is a great gift to the logistics industry. “PM’s vision and his thoughts are very inspirational. He has given us the policy and now as a sector, we have to perform and show the progress and results. PM also praised the work done by the logistics industry during the pandemic which is a great booster. As mentione by the PM, logistics industry needs to perform at cheetah’s speed ensuring fast deliveries in the coming times and we have government’s support. It was an honour and inspiration to hear from such a great person. Today, with this policy, we are at par with any other country.”

Sanjiv Mehta, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) said, “NLP has the potential to significantly reduce costs and improve industry competitiveness in consonance with the Gati Shakti programme. The resultant unified policy environment would substantially strengthen the logistics sector through optimum inter-ministry coordination and deployment of resources. We believe that combining the strengths of different modes of transport, adopting technology, and digitisation will give a major fillip to the industry. The National Logistics Policy and the PM Gati Shakti would significantly help to reduce costs and augment competitiveness.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much-awaited National Logistics Policy in the National Capital on Saturday. Commenting on the same, veteran freight forwarder, Cyrus Katgara, Partner, Jeena and Company said, “The National Logistics Policy will accelerate the growth of the sector in the coming years as it aims to promote seamless movements of goods across the country and addresses the infrastructure, procedural gaps in India’s EXIM connectivity by creating efficient, reliable and streamlined cross border trade facilitation. The sectoral plans for cost effective logistics aligned with Gati Shakti initiative is poised to be a game changer and we look forward to its unfolding in the near future.”

Air Canada has become the first airline to be re-certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the safe transport of live animals by Air Canada Cargo. The carrier has been honoured with the IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators for Live Animals Logistics (CEIV Live Animals) recertification following the successful completion of the verification process. Jason Berry, Vice President, Cargo at Air Canada said in an official release, “We are very proud to be recognized for our work in operating to the highest global standards for the worldwide transport of all live animals and being the first airline to be re-certificated continues to position Air Canada Cargo as an industry leader. Every year, we expertly and safely handle thousands of complex shipments, from rescued dogs to endangered animals transported in conservation efforts and family pets. Air Canada Cargo’s dedicated employees handling animals are specially trained, and I thank them for their diligence in treating all animals as precious cargo while in our care.”

To increase its revenue contribution to 20-25%, from single digits, in addition to synergising passenger routes with airlines in its group to improve efficiency as airfares rise, AirAsia X plans to ramp up its cargo service. Air Asia X is the long-haul affiliate of AirAsia and Unilode Aviation Solutions. Tony Fernandes, acting group chief executive of AirAsia X, said cargo services will make up a bigger proportion of total revenue over the next few years. In addition to its current wide-body Airbus A330 fleet, AirAsia X might also use the narrow-body Airbus A321 for cargo flights. The company is planning to add 362 A321 jets from the second quarter of next year until 2035, and the plane could be more efficient for shorter routes than the A330.

WIZ Tracks flagged off its fleet of trucks for temperature-controlled shipments at the recently concluded Cold Chain Unbroken 2022 event in Hyderabad. Guhan murty, Director, Land transportation Solution Wiz Truck said, “We operate a fleet of over 1600 trucks. We currently operate around 25 reefer trucks and we have plans to scale it up to 50 trucks by December. We see a lot of growth opportunities in this segment because it’s highly fragmented and there are very few big players who are supplying cold chain products pan-India. We have plans to cover all the pin coded in India.”

GMR Airport’s cargo division is creating infrastructure and ground facilities at the upcoming airport at Mopa that will encourage cargo operations. GMR is working on plans to shift the cargo that is currently being transported by road to Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai onto air freighters from the first quarter of 2023. GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure, plans to set up a logistics park on the 232 acres of commercial land available at Mopa. According to the reports, a world-class integrated air cargo terminal is being developed which is capable of handling wide body Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s and all of kinds of major bulk cargo for which the only option today is Mumbai, Hyderabad, or Chennai. So rather than cargo going out of Goa to Mumbai, cargo will start coming to Goa for shipment abroad.

The National Logistics policy introduces an Integrated Digital System (IDS) which will bring together different ministries like road transport, railways, customs, aviation, foreign trade, and commerce on one platform. All the departments will have their own digital data which will be integrated under IDS to help facilitate smooth cargo movement. The policy will also facilitate unified policy and regulatory environment for end-to-end logistics services and an overarching institutional framework that will govern the logistics sector and enhance its competitiveness. The government, PM Narendra Modi said, is using technology to strengthen logistics sector. “Faceless assessment has started in customs and e-way bills and FASTag are bringing efficiency in the logistics sector.” The Prime Minister called the policy a solution for many problems and said that it would lead to improvements of ‘all our systems.’ “There has been a constant effort to find solutions for fast last-mile delivery, resolution of transportation-related challenges, for saving time and money of our manufacturers and industries, all these subjects. The national logistics policy is a form of its solution. I believe that for the improvement of all our systems, there will be coordination between various units of the government working in these fields with a holistic approach. It will result in the delivery of the speed that we want to achieve,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India should work towards reducing logistics as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Logistics cost needs to be reduced to single digit at the earliest from 13-14 percent,” said PM in his speech. “The National Logistics Policy is the first step in reducing logistics costs in India. Performance of all ministries involved in the National Logistics Policy will be key in reducing logistics costs in India. National Logistics Policy, a comprehensive effort to address issues of high cost and inefficiency by laying down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional framework for the development of the entire logistics ecosystem, is yet another step in this direction,” he added. This new policy aims to expedite last-mile delivery and address challenges facing the transport sector. Modi also said that the new policy together with the infrastructure augmentation plan ‘PM GatiShakti’ will address gaps. He called the policy a solution for many problems and said that it would lead to improvements in ‘all our systems.’