BCC&I Presents “12th Edition of Annual Shipping & Logistics Conclave 2023”

The “12th Edition of Annual Shipping and Logistics Conclave 2023” by The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) was inaugurated in the esteemed presence of Mr. Subir Chakraborty, President, BCC&I; Smt. Vandana Aggarwal (IES), Chairperson, IFSCA Committee on Ship Acquisition, Financing and Leasing, & Former Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, Shri A K Mehera, Deputy Chairman, HDC, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Mr. S Hajara, Chairperson, Shipping and Logistics Committee, BCC&I; Mr. Adika Ratna Sekhar, Chairman and Managing Director, Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd.; Capt. S. B. Mazumder, Mentor, Shipping and Logistics Committee, BCC&I along with other eminent industrialists at the Bengal Chamber premises today. 

During the inaugural session Mr. Subir Chakraborty, President, BCC&I said,” I must thank the Shipping and Logistics Committee of the Chamber for taking the initiative of organizing such a valuable and informative programme which is the need of the hour and today. The shipping and logistics industry has always been the pulse of the global economy and is viewed as the most significant means to trade due to its sheer volume and outreach. Focus of this annual conclave is to bring together stakeholders to share best practices and also to have B2B dialogue. Policy advocacy is a major focus. We are grateful to have both the Industry and Policy sides being represented by the senior most functionaries today at the programme.”

The conclave highlighted the topics: 

• “PM Gati Shakti – National Logistics Policy”, 
• “Importance of Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route to Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transport”,
• “Harnessing the potential of Multi Modal Logistics Parks” 
• “Sustainable Supply Chain & Technology Interventions”

PM Gati Shakti – National Logistics Policy: 

Logistics is the one of the fastest evolving sectors in India and is considered as the backbone of our country’s cargo movement. The logistics sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% in the country in the coming years with focus on adoption of modern technology, e-enabled fleet, and warehouse management solutions. It employs over 22 million people and has been awarded with “infrastructure status” to attract investments at competitive rates. The sector is currently dominated by the transportation segment having about 85% market share and the rest is held by the storage segment. However, the sector also brings with it, a set of unique challenges such as its fragmented nature owing to numerous unorganized players, higher logistics costs, poor road connectivity, insufficient infrastructure to store perishable goods, among others.

The recently launched National Logistics policy (NLP) which stemmed from PM Gati Shakti master plan is built on the vision of having an integrated, seamless, efficient, and cost-effective logistics network. It aims to reduce the overall logistics cost from its current share of ~14-15% of GDP to a single digit share in the near term. The policy also aims to make Indian manufactured goods more competitive in the domestic market while also promoting economic growth and expanding job possibilities. The NLP is currently being implemented through a Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP) ensuring stakeholders gain tangible benefits. Some of this benefit will include, addressing infrastructure  gaps in EXIM connectivity, availability of new logistics parks, comprehensive & harmonised system standards, improve cargo dwell time & reduce transport cost, Optimization of modal mix for each industry & better freight demand planning.

Multiple views have emerged in the industry regarding the policy and thus it becomes important to understand its true potential and significance to be a key driver in enhancing India’s logistics landscape in the near future.

Importance of Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route to Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transport:

The maritime sector has always played a pivotal role in bringing countries together. Coastal shipping and inland waterways are critical to improve an economy’s trade competitiveness, outreach and in long term sustainability. In this context, India is working towards enhancing regional connectivity in South Asia via Eastern Waterways Connectivity Transport Grid (EWaCTG) which aims to inter-connect waterways and coastal routes in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar and provide last mile land connections to Nepal and Bhutan from designated ports.

Globally, Inland Water Transport (IWT) is recognized as a fuel efficient, cost effective and an environment friendly mode of transport compared to road, rail. Further, rivers act as a natural highway, however requiring a higher initial investment in dredging to make them navigable and needs regular maintenance and survey.

Bangladesh is the largest trading partner of India in South Asia. Trade between India and Bangladesh happens through road, rail, sea as well as inland waterways. Of this, around 70% of trade is mainly through roads and rest via other modes such as rail, sea, air and inland waterways etc. To enhance the cargo movement via sea and Inland waterways, both India and Bangladesh have taken several connectivity initiatives in the region.

Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route to Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transport is amongst one of these most significant initiatives to facilitate trade, enhance cooperation and strengthen bilateral trade between the two nations. Historically, lack of protocol route resulted in larger vessels getting transshipped at ports of Singapore/ Colombo and then sent in smaller vessels to India or Bangladesh resulting in added time and costs to the customers. The Indo-Bangladesh protocol route plays a significant role in enhancing the regional connectivity, in facilitating trade between the two countries, enhancing modal share via waterways and in reducing the congestion at land customs stations.

Harnessing the potential of Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLP):

In the recent years, the country’s transportation is increasingly being dependent on roads leading to increasing congestion and infrastructure issues in the available road network. This also results in increased costs and delays across the key routes. The onset of Multi Modal logistics parks (MMLPs) in the country is aimed to considerably work on this issue via reducing logistics costs, enhancing cargo capacity and acting as a single centre for cargo handling, warehousing, consolidation, customs clearance, parking, and maintenance services.

Under the aegis of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MorTH) has conceptualized the development of 35 MMLPs across the country of which of which Bangalore, Chennai, Guwahati, and Nagpur are currently being implemented. MoRTH has recently awarded a contract to a private party to set up a state-of-the-art MMLP facility near Chennai, spread across about 184 acres which would comprise cargo aggregation and disaggregation, distribution, inter-modal transfer, sorting, packing, repacking. Additionally, institution such as National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) is involved in the National Master Plan for providing Multi-Modal Infrastructure Connectivity to various Economic Zones and plan to develop Multi modal hubs across the country. 

The strategic locations of MMLPs near key industrial /consumption centers is designed to facilitate trade and give impetus to improve the logistics scenario and ranking of India globally. Participation and adoption from various maritime stakeholders will enable MMLPs to harness its true potential and be a roaring success for the trade.

Sustainable Supply Chain & Technology Interventions: 

The shipping and logistics industry has always been the pulse of the global economy and is viewed as the most significant means to trade due to its sheer volume and outreach. The increased international seaborne trade along with inland logistics has led to adverse effects on the environment including increased noise, reduced air quality, biodiversity loss, and water pollution, as well as impacts on public health and safety across the supply chain. 

Globally, international agencies are addressing this issue by improving sustainability across the supply chains through different targeted initiatives. Key initiatives to be noted in this regard from the shipping side include International Maritime Organization’s target of 40% CO2 reduction from shipping sector by 2030, UN’s Paris agreement to ensure countries reduce their global warming levels to at least 1.5 degrees Celsius, etc. Further, digitization and automation interventions are also being explored globally throughout the supply chain from environmental sustainability standpoint by means of enhancing resource and information efficiency with the application of Industry 4.0 technologies. Logistics companies are looking into reducing their carbon emissions by deploying clean fueled vessels, electric vehicles, smart warehouses, GPS enabled toll systems, solar rooftops installed logistics parks amongst others.

With ~95% of total EXIM trade being moved via sea, India’s trade movement is highly dependent on the shipping and logistics sector. The country’s target to become a ten trillion-dollar economy is expected to further put pressure on the trade and logistics activities and in turn will also result in increasing levels of emissions across the entire trade supply chain. Multiple initiatives have been taken into consideration in this respect. Amongst these, the Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030) laid the foundation for coherent action to cut down pollution and emissions. Further, green port policy has been formulated to expand on the initiatives under the MIV 2030 and provide guidance on potential implementation model and incentive framework. The GoI has also launched “National Green Hydrogen Mission” which aims to make India a Global Hub for production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen thus supporting decarbonization in various sectors including shipping & logistics. Additionally, a draft policy framework of India’s blue economy has been prepared to ensure optimal utilization of various sectors in the maritime space for sustainable development of coastal areas. 

Considering the significance of climate change globally and in a bid towards a sustainable tomorrow, technological interventions would play a major role in providing sustainable solutions and ensuring optimum resource utilization across the entire supply chain in the Indian context.

For Further Information Please Contact: Sumana Sarkar @ 9800699267