India's Journey to Becoming a Global Multimodal Logistics Hub

To strengthen India's position in the global value supply chain, the government has approved the Integrated Multimodal Logistics Hub, being developed in North India on over 900 acres in Nangal Chaudhary (Mahendragarh) as the largest Integrated Logistics Center.

Logistics is a measure of a nation's economic climate. After two unstable years marked by chaos and uncertainty, the logistics sector is poised to make India a multimodal logistics hub. The efficiency of logistics is a crucial advocate of policies like Make in India and nationwide implementation of the Goods & Services Tax. The year 2017 saw the first time that logistics was given a sector condition. The newly established logistics division was established within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with a focus on supporting organizations. On the September 17, 2022, National Logistics Policy was introduced by the head of state, Narendra Modi, on his birthday celebration.

The Vision of NLP is to provide the tech-enabled, economical, integrated, resistant, lasting & trusted Logistics community in the nation. The main Targets behind NLP are reducing Logistics prices in line with Global Standards by 2030, improving India's Logistics Efficiency Index position amongst the top 25 countries by 2030 & producing an effective logistics system in the nation.

In this line, the government has actually been helping for the last 2 to 3 years. To enhance India's position in the global value chain, the government has authorized the Integrated Multimodal Logistics Hub, being developed in North India on over 900acres in Nangal Chaudhary, Mahendragarh, as biggest Integrated Logistics Hub.

With additional effort, the federal government presented the PM Gati Shakti National Plan of Attack, which is driven by seven engines: mass transport, roadways, ports, airports, railways, waterways, and a logistics framework. It is transformative approach to achieve & support the sustainable development.

These 7 engines will certainly drive the economy forward, as Nirmala Sitharaman stated when introducing the 2022 budget. Rs. 20,000 crores have actually been set aside to quicken the project. In conjunction with technology, the 100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals will be established over the next three years, serving as a driver of the logistics industry’s progress.

A boost in Logistics connectivity and renovation in last-mile distributions due to the brand-new recommended actions under the PM Gati Shakti plan for increasing the National Highway Network by 25,000 kilometres in 2022-23.

In a move to emerge as the imagination-making India, a multimodal freight hub, the government is prepared to set up a multimodal Logistics Park with the start of the tripartite arrangement, which was signed by National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).

Establishing the Multimodal Logistics Park will certainly contribute to streamlining freight loan consolidation and lower logistics expenses to less than 10% of GDP, in line with International Criteria, which is currently at a solid 14%.

The MMLP will certainly include several products transported by highways, inland rivers, and railways. The contract stresses cooperation among the 3 bodies and will successfully promote logistics movement within the nation.

The MMLP will be a center with road and rail access, consisting of a cargo terminal, storage facilities, and cold storage. It will also establish a large warehousing facility for various types of assets. It will be a one-stop service for cargo-related solutions like customized clearance, warehousing, etc.

Two more amazing decisions that improved the nation's logistics situation are the introduction of FASTag and the GST e-way invoicing system. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was authorized between the Indian Highways Administration Company Ltd. (IHMCL) and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) in October 2019 to support the process. It assisted the revenue authorities in tracking the activity of transportation cars, controlling tax evasion, and thus aided supply chain monitoring firms by enhancing operational efficiency.

As highlighted in NLP, a tech-enabled Logistics Sector is the only option to bring the logistics sector back down; therefore, the government is working to integrate the various stakeholders in the logistics market with ULIP. We are also already tech-ready with our clever systems, giving Multimodal Logistics alternatives on a solitary system, integrating all the stakeholders, right from transporters, Delivering Lines, and Customs residence agents, to last-mile deliveries of EXIM Logistics. Therefore, it allows a substantial reduction in logistics costs and provides transparency into the information shared with various stakeholders.

In addition, an ambitious task undertaken by the Government of India is the Construction of dedicated freight corridors to decongest the road network by moving freight to efficient rail transport. Even though Indian trains carry over 1,200 million tonnes of freight worldwide, ranking 4th, freight trains in India run on the same lines as passenger trains, without dedicated passenger lines. This totals up to the choice travelers face between freight trains, which can delay the movement of goods across the country.

The inclusion of DFCs in India will certainly lead to drastic changes and reduce logistics costs, which currently account for 13% - 15% of the goods cost. This task will triple the motion of goods. An additional task: the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will certainly play a substantial role in boosting the country's economy. It will reduce logistics costs nationwide by 70%.

These initiatives will be a game-changer for the logistics market and will certainly be critical to India's journey to becoming a multimodal cargo hub. It is a near desire that will become a reality very soon with the calculated services applied. With the implementation of NLP, these strategies seem to be becoming a true reality. The sights and opinions revealed in this short article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indian Transport & Logistics News.