Skye Air, a drone logistics solution provider has secured $4 million (about Rs 34 crore) funding, which will be used to expand the company’s operations across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, and quick-commerce deliveries. The Series A funding was achieved with backing from Mount Judi Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Venture Catalyst, Windrose Capital, and Tremis Capital. Faad Capital, Misfits Capital, Hyderabad Angels, Soonicorn Ventures and other existing investors, family offices and angels also participated in the funding round. The fresh capital will help the company expand its last-mile network across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, e-commerce, and quick-commerce deliveries,” said Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO of Skye Air in a statement. He added that with the Modi 3.0 government at the centre stage, the company envisages a plethora of growth coming in the Indian drone sector, which will make Bharat a global drone hub by 2030. Maple Capital Advisors were the exclusive financial advisors to the company for the transaction. LexStart Partners were the legal counsel for the company. Skye Air said it is also the creator of Skye UTM, an advanced Unmanned Traffic Management system, which manages drone traffic, ensures safety, and facilitates efficient communication between drones and air traffic controls.

Vipin Vohra, Chairman, Continental Carriers stressed, “The concept of air freight station (AFS) is new in the industry. It is being misunderstood by various departments and terminal operators. They have different charges—for the airlines as well as AFS operators. This is making AFS operations more expensive. The airlines are reluctant to offer pallets, we have spent 12 years to get permission for AFS, but the confidence of the airlines to use the AFS is low. This concept is very popular across the world. In India. I do not know why the concept is not being accepted. This is going to hurt the industry in the coming years. The way the cargo is going to increase, if there are no more AFSs, the industry will suffer a lot. Even the customs charges are high. The policy needs to be changed and then only we are going to survive.”  

ESR Group has acquired an additional 27 acres of land to expand its existing industrial and logistics park at Oragadam in Chennai, says release. The enlarged area of ESR Oragadam Industrial and Logistics Park now spans 107 acres with a development potential of 2.5 million square feet. “The additional Rs 276 crore (over USD 33 million) investment signifies ESR’s dedication to bolstering Tamil Nadu’s industrial landscape,” states company’s official statement. ESR Oragadam Industrial & Logistics Park is strategically located in the heart of the Oragadam-Sriperumbudur cluster, which has witnessed robust growth in demand for Grade A assets. This latest expansion builds upon the success of ESR Oragadam’s first two phases, which have welcomed many high-quality customers, such as electromechanical solutions provider CUBIC, automotive research and development firm A2Mac1, and speciality labelling company CCL.

“Freight forwarders, especially the Indian IATA agents, must understand their own importance as domain experts who could make a lot of difference to the trading community, rather than just focusing on rates and credits,” says Samir J Shah, Director, JBS Jeena Logistics. “Since the Indian freight forwarders don’t project themselves as domain experts, it has resulted in other international stakeholders looking down upon us. To avoid this situation and to be able to perform better, I feel it’s high time we start supporting each other rather than being competitors because unless we go out and tell the world about our capabilities, their view of us is not going to change,” Shah adds. Today, international custodians, they take us for granted. Customs officials at the top levels are trying their best to bring in changes, but there’s so much resistance at the lower level, which unfortunately is supported by us because we as normal IATA agents are not in a position, because of so many market forces, and the way international exporters behave with us, we are not in a position to stand up and say, no, it’s not possible. So I think we might still have to undergo a little bit more trouble before we all start realizing that we are indispensable and we can show the rest of the stakeholders our usefulness, our utility and the fact that they need to understand that without us, their cargoes are not going to move,” he adds.

Logistics technology provider Pidge has joined the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to accelerate e-commerce growth, specifically hyperlocal and same-city deliveries across India, says reports. By utilizing Pidge’s extensive network, which includes over 200 regional and national partners, the initiative seeks to increase e-commerce penetration beyond the current 5% level in the country.

Lufthansa Cargo is all set to expand its regional freighter network in July with the additional flights from Munich Airport for the first time, says release. The German cargo carrier said the flights will start on July 6, utilising its Airbus A321 freighters to connect Munich with Istanbul twice a week. Customers can already start booking flights on the service which will operate on Saturdays and Sundays with the flight numbers LH8350/LH8351 and LH8346/LH8347. Ashwin Baht, Chief Executive, Lufthansa Cargo said, “For our southern German customers in particular, Munich Airport offers ideal conditions for the fast and reliable transportation of airfreight, which ultimately also enables global business from another important European airport. With the launch of our cargo operations out of Munich, we are laying the foundation for aligning our network even more closely with the needs of our customers in the future and continuing to manage it flexibly.”

According to a latest report jointly released by CREDAI and CRE Matrix, the warehousing sector is set to cross the 300 million square feet-mark by 2025. Currently, the overall Grade A warehousing stock in the country stands at 216.2 million square feet. “With e-commerce, retail expansion and global companies entering India, we foresee a robust demand and supply growth for Grade A warehouses,” Boman Irani, President, CREDAI said that India’s favourable policies, competitive manufacturing costs and labor availability make it a prime investment destination. “Demand continued to surpass supply in the first quarter of the ongoing calendar year with an absorption to supply ratio of 1.4, alongside a 5% increase in rentals. Meanwhile Grade A/A+ vacancy levels declined 1.2% year-on-year across the top-6 cities,” the report added.

“In the next three years, we have got significant capacity coming in. IndiGo will be going into wide-body space with the A350, which presents a greater opportunity for cargo,” says Mark Sutch, CCO- Cargo, IndiGo. He adds, “The challenge I see in the short term is the imbalance between trade flows in India. For example, from the east, from China and North Asia, there’s a lot of import into India, and less export. To the west, there’s a lot of export out of India, particularly perishables and pharma into the west but on the import side, it’s slightly lighter. I think in the medium to long term, this will change significantly. Indian manufacturing is going to go up the value chain. Let’s take high-value goods such as mobile phones or tablets. China has been the center of manufacturing for those. But you now see quite a lot of China plus one strategy where organizations are moving their manufacturing to India. A lot of that is now for Indian domestic consumption. But in the next few years, that will also be for export purposes.”

The Agra Development Authority (ADA) will soon begin the construction of a logistics hub worth Rs 570 crore in Mudhera village, situated southeast of the Gwalior Road in Agra. The project aims to significantly enhance the region’s logistics and transportation capabilities, says official reports. Shraddha Shandilya, Secretary of ADA said in a statement, “The board has passed the proposal for the logistics hub in Mudhera. Seed Capital is needed for the purchase of land, and the proposal will be sent to the government for approval. Once the necessary approvals are obtained, the land acquisition process will begin, paving the way for this transformative project.”

Prediman Koul, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Jeena & Company says, “Air cargo is much faster than sea cargo. While sea shipments can take weeks or even months to reach their destinations, air cargo can typically arrive within a matter of days, sometimes even hours. Air cargo is generally more reliable in terms of adhering to schedules. Sea cargo can be significantly impacted by weather conditions, port congestions, and other logistical challenges, leading to delays. For high-value or time-sensitive goods, such as pharmaceuticals or urgent automotive parts, air cargo is a more secure and expedited option.”