Throwing a lifeline to container freight station (CFS) operators, the government is working on an alternative cargo evacuation model to replace the direct port delivery (DPD) scheme. The new system will restore the role of these intermediaries in the supply chain backed by an e-marketplace for truck trailers. “We are now trying to remodel our cargo evacuation system with the CFS as the fulcrum,” said Gopal Krishna, Shipping Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, in adding, “We are going back to the thinking that was prevalent in the late 1980s when this concept started that the CFS should take the burden of being the first repository of the boxes and thereafter cargo will move.”

SpiceXpress, the airfreight unit of SpiceJet, has charted an expansion plan that includes increasing its capacity, and taking its services to more destinations within India and overseas. The company aims to eventually service up to 150 destinations in India, Asia and Europe by 2022. SpiceXpress plans to increase its monthly freight carrying capacity from 15,000 tonnes per month to 27,000 tonnes, by the end of 2018. It also plans to further increase its capacity to 90,000 tonnes by the end of 2022 and also plans to add four more freighter aircraft by March 2019. In terms of destinations, the company is looking to take its services to nearly 10 more locations in India and overseas. These include Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati in India, and Dubai, Kabul, Dhaka and Singapore. Besides these aircraft, it also offers cargo capacity on SpiceJet’s passenger aircraft fleet. The fleet includes 36 Boeings and 22 Q400s Bombardiers operating across 47 domestic and 7 international locations.

India has urged Bangladesh to use Kolkata and Haldia ports for transhipment purposes. The initiative will reduce coastal shipping rates and boost bilateral trade, thereby shifting cargo from the costly land route, and create an opportunity for Bangladeshi garment exporters to reach European and American markets avoiding congestion at the Chittagong port. The proposal was reiterated at a ministerial meeting in Dhaka recently. Indian customs authorities have already cleared the deck for Bangladesh to use Haldia as a transhipment port. However, Bangladesh is yet to approve the same. At the crux of the proposal is the growing need to augment handling capacities on either side, keeping in tune with growing trade volumes.

To power the future growth for its end-to-end air cargo and logistics business, IndiGo has partnered with SmartKargo; a cloud-based air cargo management solution. The airline will deploy SmartKargo for its cargo business across all destinations, including domestic and international operations. IndiGo operates on a fleet size of 189 aircraft including 47 new generation A320 NEOs, 127 A320 CEOs and 12 ATRs, across 57 destinations – 48 domestic and nine internationals. Mohan Kash, Managing Director, SmartKargo India, says, “With our unmatched cloud-based technology and out-of-the-box deployment approach, our customers have significant improvements in key performance indicators, in three main areas, i.e. real-time and complete visibility, higher flown and higher yields.” William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo, said, “IndiGo cargo has ambitious plans to grow its revenues and remain competitive in this fast-growing area. We needed to have a state-of-the-art technology platform that was fast to deploy and easy to use. SmartKargo includes the local as well as international features needed for our business. Especially important for us was to adopt to best practices in the air cargo industry and deploying SmartKargo can bring us closer.”

OceanPro , an intensive 120-day accelerator programme, is offering start-ups an opportunity to partner with Maersk to bring innovative technology solutions to ease the global supply chain for customers. Pioneered in India, OceanPro complements Maersk’s innovation efforts worldwide. Seven external start-ups and one internal start-up have been identified for collaboration to create solutions that serve customers and manage operations better, leveraging Blockchain, Internet of Things, Advance Text Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. “We recognise the immense potential of India’s technology and digital talent and are looking to capitalise on these capabilities to help the logistics industry worldwide, to reinvent itself,” says Søren Skou, CEO, A.P. Moller – Maersk.

The bilateral trade between the India and Bangladesh can utilise their connectivity to boost trade. There is immense scope for increasing Food & Beverages (F&B) exports from India to Bangladesh, says an senior official. Bangladesh is sending a strong buyer delegation to India during the upcoming Indus Food-II to be held in January 2019, in Greater Noida, organised jointly with Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The bilateral trade between the two countries is set to  touch $9 billion, out of which Bangladesh exports goods are worth $900 million. “India being an immediate neighbour with whom Bangladesh not only shares a long border but also culture, traditions and language will be looking towards India to import the items it needs,” says Jahangir Bin Alam, CEO  India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IBCCI).  Presently, Bangladesh’s total import of F&B from the world is $5016.4 million, out of which India is 5th in ranking with exports worth $332.4 million. Bangladesh currently sources 17.2 % of its F&B requirements from Brazil, followed by Indonesia (12.1%), Canada (9.7%), Argentina (9.1%) and India (6.6%). Improved connectivity between the two countries will help a lot in developing trade further. Source: PIB    

Blue Dart has announced expansion plans to deliver to every Indian home by December 2018, amidst rising demand for deliveries in tier II, III & IV towns in India. Through the initiative, the goal is to reach every Indian home, further strengthening Blue Dart’s leadership position in the express logistics industry in India for B2B and B2C. Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express said, “We are well on our way to cover all pin codes in India, with already 17,677+ pin codes and 100 per cent pin code coverage in 16 states and union territories. The company’s strategy is in alignment with the Government’s Make in India vision and various state initiatives, to further enable business and generate employment across the country.”

Union Minister & Minister of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari has informed that The National Waterway 1 on river Ganga is expected to see 21.89 million tonnes (MT) of cargo traffic in the next two to three years. “This will be on the back of government measures to promote inland water transport in the country,” he said. Besides, 13 standardised state-of-the-art ship designs have been drawn as part of efforts to boost river transport and remove any ambiguity on vessel sizes that can sail on Ganga, he added. “We have taken a slew of steps to promote inland water transport, which has been neglected so far. A study has projected traffic at 21.89 MT on National Waterway 1 (NW-1) by 2021,” Gadkari said. The cargo traffic on NW-1 was 5.5 MT in 2017-18. Currently, various projects underway on NW 1 have the terminal capacity of 13.62 MT and these include Varanasi, Haldia and Sahebganj multi-modal hubs, the minister further said. With the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) coming up with 13 vessel designs, this move would serve as an enabler for domestic shipbuilding industry working on inland vessels and open huge possibilities for cargo and passenger movement on NW-1. Source: PTI

Russian rail monopoly RZD and Indian Railways will sign a memorandum to set up a joint operator of rail cargo traffic via the North-South corridor, informed Alexander Misharin, First Deputy Director General, RZD. He named traffic via the North-South corridor among the priorities for cooperation between the two companies. “We plan to sign a memorandum of agreement on developing cooperation with Indian Railways, which includes design and supplies of dispatch control systems, automated systems, creating a joint operator, study and preparation of documents to organise joint agreements on cargo traffic,” he said. The North-South international transport corridor is aimed at transporting cargo from India and Persian Gulf countries to western and northern Europe via Iran, Azerbaijian and Russia. The corridor’s main advantage is that the delivery will be two or three times faster than via other routes. Initially, the side plan to transport five million tonnes annually, and the volume may be doubled in the future.

Marking the 14th facility in Maharashtra DHL Express has inaugurated a new service centre in Aurangabad. RS Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express India, said, “Aurangabad is a burgeoning trade hub for start-ups and small and medium enterprises. Our new facility is poised for this growth and will help us facilitate seamless business for our customers, who can rely on us to reach international markets. This reaffirms our commitment towards being key trade enablers.” Strategically located on Beed bypass, the new 2700 sqft facility will cover an area of 300 sqkm surrounding key industrial hubs, including old and new Aurangabad, Chikalthana MIDC, Shendra MIDC, Chittegaon MIDC and Waluj MIDC. Customers will benefit from the service center by saving at least one day on overall shipment transit time. The new facility aims to enable and facilitate trade in Aurangabad, which is emerging as a strong manufacturing base and a prominent location for the IT sector. In addition, it will extend support to industries such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, electronics and engineering.