Category Archives: Supply Chain

India’s first AC freight express train launched

Northern Railway has launched its new AC freight express train service running from Ferozepur Division’s Sanhewal to South Western Railway’s Yesvantpur, with 20 second and third AC carriages. The first AC cargo express train left Sanhewal of the Ferozepur division for Yeshwantpur of the South Western Railway. According to authorities, this is the first time an AC freight express train has operated on Indian rails. Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal announced that a train carrying ICF’s standard air-conditioned passenger coaches had been converted into freight for the first time and there are plans in place for the loading of 121 tonnes of material. Chocolate, raw materials, noodles, sauce, and fabric, among other things, have been put into the train.

Read More »

Welspun One Logistics Parks forays into North India

Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP), forays into North India with the acquisition of two strategically located land parcels spread across Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Farukhnagar in Haryana. The development that entails a cost of INR 180 Cr will be executed under Welspun One’s first Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) product “Welspun One Logistics Parks Fund I”, launched earlier this year. With a gross leasable area aggregating to approximately 8 lakh sq. ft., the projects shall be rented to blue-chip tenants from sectors such as e-commerce, 3PL, and FMCG / FMCD, among others. B.K. Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group, mentions, “The demand for Grade-A warehousing multiplied amidst the pandemic, and as we move forward, it is only expected to mature further, in a big way. With the acquisition of land in Lucknow and Farukhnagar, not only are we offering warehousing facilities designed as per customer needs and in line with global standards, but these developments also mark an important milestone for the local communities as the parks have a potential to create employment opportunities for over 1500 people approximately across Northern India.”

Read More »

AMTOI elects new office bearers in it’s 22nd AGM

The Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India – AMTOI, held its 22nd AGM last month using a virtual platform. The following office bearers were elected for the year 2021-2022. Xerrxes Master-President, George Abrao-Vice President, Arun Kumar-Honorary Secretary, Devpal Menon–Honorary Treasurer. The program then moved on to a very interesting and informative “AMTOI Dialogues” session which was moderated by Xerrxes Master of AMTOI. The speaker for this session was N. Sivasailam, IAS (Ex- Special Secretary Logistics). He emphasized on Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) and how AMTOI as an Association can set its own standards and benchmarks in achieving SRO status. In addition, he also shared the importance of Digitization in the logistics industry as we are on the cusp of a Digital Revolution, popularly known as i4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It was a very interactive session where the audience also got a chance to put up their questions to him and get his expert opinion. The AGM concluded with Anjali Bhide, Hon. Secretary giving the vote of thanks.

Read More »

FFFAI elects new office bearers of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-23

Shankar Shinde is elected the new Chairman – FFFAI at 58th AGM held in Mumbai on September 24 The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) in its 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on September 24, 2021 elected new Office Bearers of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-23. Shankar Shinde the then Chairman-Elect for the year 2019-21, has taken over as Chairman, FFFAI for the ensuing two years’ tenure. He is also elected Managing Director on IFCBA (International Federation of Custom Brokers Association). The other elected Office Bearers are, Dushyant Mulani, Chairman-Elect. – Brihanmumbai Custom Brokers Association . Vice Chairmen- S Nataraja – Chennai Custom House Agents’ Association, Amit Kamat – Goa Custom House Agents’ Association, Rajesh Verma – Ludhiana Custom House Agents’ Association, Sudip Dey – Calcutta Custom House Agents’ Association, Shashidhar V. Hebbar – Bangalore Custom House Agents’ Association Ltd., Kartik Pancholi – Ahmedabad Custom Brokers Association, Vinod Sharma, Hon. Secretary – Pune Custom House Agents’ Association, Sudhir Agarwal, Hon. Treasurer. – Nagpur Custom House Agents’ Association.

Read More »

Piyush Goyal inaugurates NITIE Centre of Excellence

In keeping with his commitment to nation-building and fostering a conducive atmosphere for the fruitful public, private and academic partnerships, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) on Thursday, 23rd September 2021. While congratulating NITIE for this initiative and reminiscing about his past association with the institute when his father was a visiting faculty there, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, highlighted the tremendous scope of global business supply chains in driving the nation’s economy. He urged all the students and faculty members to take into consideration the importance of efficiency and the geographic spread of industries and factories today, while committing to drive India’s progress – not just for themselves but also for the marginalised and underprivileged sections of society.

Read More »

Specialised logistics needs drive demand for 3PL

The Third-Party Logistics (3PL) sector in India is set to grow phenomenally along with its key growth drivers including E-commerce, digitization, and infrastructure modernization. According to the recent report unveiled by Technavio, a leading global technology research and advisory company, the Indian 3PL market is set to grow by $10.74 billion at a CAGR of 8 per cent during 2021-2025. Mordor Intelligence, another study puts the growth of Indian 3PL at 11 per cent during the same forecast period. The global 3PL market accounted for $1027.71 billion in 2019, and is expected to reach $1,789.94 billion by 2027 registering a CAGR of 7.1 per cent from 2020 to 2027. It is noteworthy that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region claimed majority share in the global 3PL market in 2019. While, the Indian 3PL market remains to display its promise with the introduction of recent tax reforms, and the behavioural shifts in consumer patterns such as preference for online shopping, and other industry and government advantages to build capacity and infrastructure.

Read More »

Import-Export Code not updated after 2005 to be de-activated from October 6: DGFT

To be aware of the actual number of traders in the country, the Commerce Ministry announced deactivation of all importer-exporter codes (IECs) that have not been updated after January 2005 with effect from October 6 this year. The Importer -Exporter Code (IEC) is a key business identification number that is mandatory for exports or imports. Without the IEC number granted by the DGFT, no individual shall make any import or export. On August 8 this year, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) was mandated all IEC holders to ensure that details in their IEC are updated electronically every year during the April-June period. “All IECs which have not been updated after January 1, 2005, shall be deactivated with effect from October 6, 2021,” according to a trade notice of the DGFT.

Read More »

USISPF announces it’s fourth Annual Leadership Summit

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) announced its fourth Annual Leadership Summit, titled “Looking Ahead: Strengthening Resilience, Expanding Prosperity,” which will convene virtually this year from September 29-October 1. The program will include a range of strategic discussions between USISPF’s board members, including Fortune 500 CEOs and senior government officials from both countries. On Thursday, USISPF will honor Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Executive Chairman of Tata Sons, Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Global, and Rajesh Subramaniam, President, COO and Director, FedEx Corp., with the USISPF Global Leadership Award 2021 for leading the corporate community in their heroic efforts of responding to India’s second wave of Covid-19. Congratulating the awardees, John Chambers, Chairman of the USISPF Board, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us in so many ways since the start of 2020. When the U.S. experienced the height of the pandemic, India stepped up to help us, sending critical medicines to Americans. It was amazing to then see that help reciprocated during the second wave of COVID in India. Partnership is built on trust, collaboration, and people-to-people connections. This year’s three awardees exemplify qualities of true leadership, as demonstrated by their tremendous individual efforts to help India in their time of need earlier this year. We are incredibly grateful for their courage, integrity, and hard work during this time of uncertainty, and are inspired by their actions to build a stronger U.S.-India partnership and more resilient global community.”

Read More »

Amazon pacts with GMR Logistics Park for 10L sq ft of warehousing space in Hyderabad

E-commerce giant Amazon India has entered into an agreement with GMR Logistics Park Pvt Ltd as of August 19, 2021, to lease a 10 lakh sq ft of warehousing space for a period of 20 years, in Hyderabad, as revealed by Propstack. The chargeable area is 10.08 lakh sq ft and the starting rent is around INR 2 crore per month (INR 20.15 per sq ft). The lease starts from April 15, 2022, as per documents. As per the clause mentioned in the lease agreement, there will be a rental escalation of 15 percent every three years. GMR Logistics Park Pvt Ltd is expected to hand over the first phase of the leaseable premises on April 15, 2022, and phase 2 of the leasable premises on September 1, 2022, the documents showed

Read More »

In a first, Indian Railways connects Gujarat’s Pipavav port with a double-stacked electric train

In a landmark achievement, Indian Railways’ Western Railway (WR) zone successfully operated the first electric train from Bhavnagar Division’s Pipavav Port, making it the country’s first Indian port connected with High Rise over head electrification(OHE). With this, Pipavav Rail Corporation Ltd., a new customer, has been added as Container Operator. The first rake was loaded from Pipavav port siding to Bhagat Ki Kothi, Jodhpur. This port is now directly connected with DFC with AC Traction of High Rise OHE. A senior railway official stated that this newly established connectivity will benefit in various aspects, such as elimination of undue detention on account of Traction change, acceleration will be quicker, direct connectivity through AC Traction between Pipavav Port and DFC and other major destinations. “The new connectivity with Pipavav Port is the beginning to a new era for Western Railway as well as Indian Railways towards a smooth, easy and quick transportation from ports in India,” according to an official statement by the Western Railway.

Read More »