Shadowfax, has joined hands with the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) to promote micro-entrepreneurship in the gig economy by upskilling more than 150000 youth under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission initiative. Under this partnership, ASSOCHAM will work closely with the government to create awareness about the benefits of working in this sector and the right candidates shall be trained as per government standards to make them employment ready for the delivery and hospitality sector. Once trained, these fully skilled human resources will be provided business and entrepreneurship opportunities in the delivery sector through the crowdsourced Shadowfax logistics platform. This first-of-its-kind socio-economic association is expected to create an additional resource pool of 1.6 lakh trained delivery personnel in the course of next two years across India including metros, tier 2, tier 3 cities and even rural areas.

SpiceJet has started PO mail delivery service in Jharsuguda, one of the regional airports. Earlier these mails use to come via Bhubaneshwar through flight and then by train which usually takes 2 days to reach Jharsuguda. The new air service enables same day delivery from Delhi. 33 mails and two ordinary letter bags arrived from Delhi through SpiceJet airline at VSS airport, Jharsuguda. Six neighbouring districts; Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Deogarh, Bhawanipatna, including Jharsuguda will be directly benefited and mails would reach same day if booked by Delhi by 10 am. This will help in bringing this region closer to rest of the country.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry congratulated the DFCCIL team for completing the 500 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and said, “Just like IRCTC, which pays compensation for delays in its Tejas trains, railways freight customers should be compensated for late arrival of goods trains and emphasised for time-tabled goods train run on DFCCIL. Indian Railways should run freight trains in convoys for maximum utilisation of the path and increasing the average speed of freight trains.” DFCCIL has completed the 500 km of DFC out of the goal of 991 km by March 2020. He continues, “DFC has the impact to transform the railways sector. It is necessary to have separate tracks for freight and for passengers to ensure faster movement of both.”

N Sivasailam, Special Secretary – Logistics, Department of Commerce, Government of India has kindly consented to grace the India Cargo Awards 2019. India Cargo Awards 2019 are scheduled to be held on January 27, 2020 from 7 pm to 10 pm at the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida. Sivasailam is an officer of the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service allotted to Karnataka Cadre. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, University of Delhi. He did his Master’s in Business Administration at the Faculty Management Studies, University of Delhi, and Master’s in Social Policy & Planning from the London School of Economics and Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Law (IPRL) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Prior to this assignment, he served as an Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Public Enterprises, Government of Karnataka. He has served in the Departments of Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Forest, Ecology & Environment Departments of the Government of Karnataka as Principal Secretary.

To develop logistics parks in key consumption hubs in India, Allcargo Logistics has partnered with Blackstone Group. Blackstone will invest up to Rs380 crore in Allcargo Logistics to develop industrial and logistics parks across India. Blackstone proposes to make its investment in the platform, by way of debt and equity. Allcargo will retain a minority stake in the various logistics assets and transfer its debt as it relates to these specific assets to their relevant subsidiaries. The transaction is expected to conclude in a phase wise manner over the next 12 months, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and achievement of certain milestones. “Through this strategic tie-up, we reiterate our commitment and positioning to create a global benchmark in warehousing infrastructure and provide state-of-the-art warehousing solutions to our customers,” states Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Allcargo Logistics.

Tensions between Iran and the US increased after an American drone strike that killed top Iranian General last week. Iran is a key trading partner of India. “Escalation of tension between the US and Iran will have implications on India’s exports to the Persian Gulf nation, said, Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO. He said that due to existing trade sanctions on Iran, Iranian shipping lines are only taking Indian consignments to that country. Iran’s major exports to India are oil, fertilisers and chemicals, while it imports cereals, tea, coffee, basmati rice, spices and organic chemicals, among others. FIEO Chief is also of the view that Iran holds huge export opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, chemicals, machinery, pharmaceuticals, paper and paper products, man-made fibre and filament yarn and essential oils.

The MCCI Logistics Forum 2019 emphasised on regular communication between importers of Nepal and the service providers in India to bring down logistics cost. Sudip Dey, Vice Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI), suggests, “There must be regular interactions between the importers of Nepal and Kolkata Service providers to bring down cost of Nepal import. It was only due to lack of communication that anomalies were happening (e.g. port ground rent, penalty by Railways etc). KOPT may keep a liaison officer in Nepal for dealing with day to day issues. Border restrictions for transit into Nepal should be done away with and vigilance should be done with the help of risk management & IT.” Highlighting the importance of Indo-Nepal as well as regional trade MCCI officials maintained that an efficient logistics and transportation infrastructure would be critical for strengthening India’s trade and economic engagement with its neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.

GMR Hyderabad Aerotropolis (GHAL) has formed a joint venture with ESR Hyderabad 1 (ESR) to develop a 66-acre logistics and industrial park at the Hyderabad airport city. Both the companies, for the aforesaid transaction, have entered into definitive agreements with an equity interest of 70 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in the SPV viz., GMR Logistics Park. The total project outlay would be around Rs550 crore. “This collaboration would set new standards for the warehousing and industrial real estate sector. It would also benefit the burgeoning cargo industry in the region,” said Aman Kapoor, CEO – Airport Land Development, GMR Group.

Seeing the improved connectivity of Madhya Pradesh with other states in all directions, Walmart, Amazon and Reliance are preparing to tap the strategic location of Madhya Pradesh to set up logistic bases by locating national distribution centres and warehouses in the state. The state is likely to see intense activity on this front in March and April. The business heads of the retailers are planning visits in the couple of months to figure out details of logistics business. According to Rajesh Rajoura, Principal Secretary to the state government for industrial investment policy and promotion, “Walmart, Amazon and Reliance have expressed interest in building logistic hubs and warehouses in the state. Setting up retail outlets is neither their priority nor the state government. But logistic hubs will get due consideration.” Amazon also plans to enter fresh fruit and vegetable markets in a big way and would want to set up centres for supply in Madhya Pradesh and the rest of the country.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will be acquiring a 75% stake from the existing shareholders of Krishnapatnam Port and Company (KPCL). This acquisition will accelerate APSEZ’s stride towards 400 MMT by 2025. The acquisition value of KPCL is approximately Rs13,500 crore. The purchase consideration will be funded through internal accruals and existing cash balance. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and the transaction is expected to be completed in 120 days. Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, APSEZ, said, “Given the best-in-class infrastructure and the distinct hinterland catered by KPCL, this acquisition will not just increase our market share to 27 per cent but also add remarkable value to our pan-India footprint.”