Category Archives: Aviation

DroneTech company, TSAW has announced the launch of its logistics arm DRONECO. The startup comes with a vision to recreate the logistics ecosystem by introducing a new and faster mode of transportation i.e., drones. DRONECO will facilitate point-to-point drone transport supply chain logistics services with the primary goal of delivering goods to customers in a timely manner. Backed by its parent drone manufacturing company, TSAW and its cloud-based UAV system DCIS (Drone Cloud Intelligence System), DRONECO intends to be the go-to last-mile logistics facilitator for e-commerce platforms, armed forces, medical suppliers and others. Burdened with multiple constraints, logistics firms have long been experimenting with drones for end-to-end delivery. By bypassing the existing bottlenecks, DRONECO is all geared up to be the thought leader and one-stop solution with the desire to make deliveries economical and swift as well as to provide instant gratification to its clients. TSAW is co-founded by Kishan Tiwari and Rimanshu Pandey who have a stellar track record in the drone logistics segment with the ambition to bridge the gap between cultures and societies. Commenting on the launch of the DRONECO, Kishan Tiwari, Co-Founder & CEO, TSAW said, “There has never been a better time to launch a platform like DRONECO, as India is on its way to becoming a global player in both demand and supply chain. This implies that we have a lucrative market for the application of our wide range of solution portfolios. Our ability to strategize and execute across multiple service lines as well as provide tailored solutions that span the entire drone logistics spectrum will set the industry benchmark. With our proven technological expertise, many reputed enterprises have already shown keen interest by …

Shankar Shinde, Chairman, FFFAI shares his views and expectations from the upcoming budget, he says, “Logistics is the backbone of the whole economy and when you talk about progress, nothing comes without logistics. We have seen that the government is placing more emphasis on this logistics development, infrastructure development, reducing dwell time and reducing the cost across the logistics sector. What we talk about, and that is where we envision that with this, we will have a lot of opportunities across the world bringing an alternative where we find presently China’s economy is being shaken, not stable. We found that the European US sanctions are doing good for the Indian market to Russia and again the Ukraine-Russia war has given access to these Iranian sales across countries so there are a lot of opportunities which will come across and whenever there is an opportunity for the production it is always a logistics company which will take over. So we find that in the future there will be a big scope for the logistics into this industry, for the logisticians. Also digitalization has taken over, there is a disruption in the whole system with this technology. But it’s a good welcome move because when it comes to digitalization, we get a real study, the real things as to what is required for the government, what is required for the trade, to foresee the future aspects of promoting the products into the international market. So this is where we find and as far as the budget is concerned, investors with a lot of facilities which have been extended to the logistics sector. With Digitalization, the new platform coming up, there will be …

Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo Service Center shares his expectations from the upcoming budget 2023-2024, and says, “I think the first thing itself, is the Prime Minister declaring National Logistics Policy and with Gati Shakti Program, it is very clear that the government is focusing on logistics. In fact the world is focusing on the supply chain and India cannot be in isolation. With the world supply chain now taking the center stage, India is going to be a global supplier for so many things. For example iPhone, now its third factory coming in, and Pharma, which is world’s generic drug, 20% is supplied by India. We are a world pharmacy and in that respect, I think we are a sunrise industry. India is probably the only country which is growing above 6% in GDP in time to come. That itself is good news and that will need an efficient, and resilient logistic supply chain. Having said that, it needs a lot of support. Just to start with GST, which is now put in for 18% on the air freight and the argument from the government is that the stakeholders can claim reimbursement later. My point is it should be rationalized and should be a lower percentage so at least the cash flow is not impacted for exporter importer as well as for the forwarding and logistic company. I think the government should take that first step. The second step is, of course, the very old demand of the aviation turbine fuel which is still very high and it should be rationalized that will help bring more air freight operators in civil aviation in terms of air freight airline to …

We are planning to expand our operations and add air cargo capacity in strategic phases so that we can follow an efficient and sustained growth to optimize our operations and deliver excellence, says, Abhishek Goyal, Director, Aeroprime Group. “We plan to add more capacity in passenger aircrafts belly space and freighter operations from multiple cities in India in 2023 to support growth of the industry,” he adds. “The key drivers for air cargo sector growth would be the increased capacity offered by passenger flights and freighter operations along with increased demand for pharma and perishable exports from India. Government policies favouring air cargo export can further support growth in 2023,” he shares.

Yogesh Dhingra, Founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Smartr Logistics says “In line with the recently launched National Logistics Policy and the PM Gati Shakti scheme, reducing overall logistics costs in India from approximately 14% currently to under 10% of GDP is a priority for India. The upcoming budget would expect to build upon the work outlined in the prior year with a focus on multimodal connectivity and improving physical infrastructure. We could expect to see more allocation for the national highway network, towards rail infrastructure in an expansion of tracks as well as container capacity, development of cargo terminals and warehousing capacity which will further strengthen the groundwork for an integrated logistics system. We would also expect the government to continue to build on the UDAN scheme with new airports for enhanced regional connectivity and increased capacity at existing airports. We are certain that the government’s strategic moves will continue to develop the logistics sector and improve India’s supply chain competitiveness.”

Sanjay Bhatia, Co-founder & CEO, Freightwalla also shares, “In the upcoming budget, a further focus towards holistic infrastructure creation would significantly help the MSMEs and large exporters. In the infrastructure, crucial attention must be given to digitisation of the entire supply chain system for smooth functioning and lowering the logistics cost that benefits the MSME exporters. A budget allotment towards digitisation will be a catalyst for the EXIM fraternity. Special emphasis on container manufacturing, budget allocation for strengthening inland waterways and boosting multimodal connectivity will help bolster the exports. Broadening the scope of the PLI scheme by incentivising other segments like apparel, chemicals, and heavy machinery would also help significantly in boosting India’s exports. 6.3 crore MSMEs of India are the economy’s backbone by generating over 11 crore jobs and contributing over 30% to India’s exports. Despite such a robust presence, most of these MSMEs face multiple challenges in their day-to-day life. A seamless supply of working capital is one of them, due to which their production growth is hindered, and the balance sheet is affected. Targeted efforts towards creating a long-term solution for addressing working capital needs at a subsidised rate for rural and semi-urban micro and small enterprises will help them get in the export race with their larger counterparts. Some specialised incentives for women entrepreneurs, especially from rural areas, would also be instrumental in bringing much-needed gender parity.”

Nitish Rai, CEO and Co-Founder, FreightFox says, “Sub-par transportation infrastructure and poor on-the-go visibility are the country’s biggest problems, and the government has taken initial steps in the right direction towards improving it. 1. Greater push towards completion of DFCs and expressways will help increase utilisation of resources and improve speed of goods movement. 2. Inclusion of fleet owners under the GST, would help them save upto 10% of their costs incurred towards new fleet, tyres, etc. 3. bringing diesel under the purview of GST has been mulled over, but this step can further lower costs upto 7-8% for fleet owners 4. We also expect more support for our transporters on the road, especially in the form of affordable board and lodging. 5. Investment in digital R&D for the supply chain is critical, especially in an era of hyper-competition and significant opacities along the way. In the current economic climate, supply chain efficiency is vital to ensure that India’s economy stays robust. Making that a reality requires government support- and we’re confident the 2023 Budget will reflect that.”

Stellar Value Chain Solutions is planning to invest approx. INR 200 crores over the next 3–4 years to build modern, tech-enabled fulfilment centres exclusively for D2C (Direct-To-Consumer) brands. The company has plans to scale up the cumulative D2C fulfilment space to approx. 7 million sq. ft. in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata by 2026. The D2C fulfilment centres will be located at key strategic locations and will cater to all sectors, with key focus on electronics, fashion, FMCG, and home décor. Stellar Value Chain Solutions is looking at onboarding around 20 D2C brands as its initial pool of D2C clients. These centres will be equipped with advanced technologies that will empower the D2C brands with new-age supply chain solutions while building smarter 3PL strategies. The centres will also offer fast shipping and efficient return management services. Commenting on the plan, Anshuman Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Stellar Value Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd. said, “With the rise in the adoption of digital channels and technologies as well as the robust growth of the start-up ecosystem, India is in the middle of a D2C revolution. We intend to develop a strong supply chain backbone for emerging and growth focused D2C brands by rolling out advanced D2C fulfilment centres across key consumption centres pan India. We have always been ahead of the curve in our mission to strengthen our service offerings, and the plan to launch a D2C fulfilment centre is in line with that outlook. Our tech-enabled fulfilment centres, along with modern transportation solutions, will help D2C brands deliver a superior customer experience. Our larger goal is to support large-scale entrepreneurship across the country with our differentiated supply chain services.”

There are mixed signals regarding air cargo’s outlook after November saw another double-digit percentage decline in demand. The latest IATA statistics show that airfreight demand in cargo tonne km terms (CTK) declined by 13.7% year on year in November. Capacity for the month fell by 1.9% against last year and load factors were down 6.7 percentage points to 49.1%. The decline is the ninth demand decline in a row and reflects high inflation that is curtailing the spending capacity of households, the ongoing war in Ukraine disrupting trade flows, and the “unusual” strength of the US dollar making commodities traded in dollars more expensive in local currency terms. “Air cargo performance softened in November, the traditional peak season,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “Resilience in the face of economic uncertainties is demonstrated with demand being relatively stable on a month-to-month basis. But market signals are mixed. “November presented several indicators with upside potential: oil prices stabilised, inflation slowed and there was a slight expansion in goods traded globally. But shrinking export orders globally and China’s rising Covid cases are cause for careful monitoring.” Looking at regional performance, airlines based in the Asia Pacific region suffered the largest percentage decline as demand in CTK terms fell 18.6% year on year. “Airlines in the region continue to be impacted by lower levels of trade and manufacturing activity and disruptions in supply chains due to China’s rising Covid cases,” IATA said. North American carriers saw their cargo traffic slide by 6.6% year on year in November, which was an improvement on the 8.6% fall registered in October. European carriers noted a 16.5% decline in November. “This was an improvement in performance compared …

Amazon has set up a dedicated freighter service arrangement with Bangalore-based all-cargo airline Quikjet to scale-up its network reach and delivery speed in India. Quikjet secured its air operator certificate (AOC) a few months ago and has a fleet of two converted 737-800Fs, according to reports. The cargo airline will provide a dedicated 737 freighter, with a payload of 23 tons, for Amazon’s India deliveries, and industry sources said it would fly under Amazon’s Prime Air brand. Quikjet, founded in 2007 as a neutral cargo airline, is part of Irish airline and leasing group ASL Aviation and is also backed by a few strategic Indian investors, including Tata Capital.