Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, PiyushGoyal, reviewed the draft National Logistics Policy and the proposed action plan for implementation of the policy prepared by the Department of Logistics, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The draft National Logistics Policy has been prepared in consultation with the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Civil Aviation. Forty-six Partnering Government Agencies (PGAs) inputs wereanalysed in detail for consideration in the Policy.

Commerce and Industry Minister in his opening remarks urged that all the four Ministries and their departments must leverage existing infrastructure to support each other in the logistics chain. This will not only help in maximizing capacity utilization but also reduce costs he added.

PiyushGoyal directed that all four Ministries must work in coordination with each other so that the 14% logistics cost of India’s GDP may be brought down to 9%.  In the meeting all aspects of logistics related to railways, civil aviation, shipping and inland waterways, road transport, ropeways warehousing and cold chain were discussed in detail.

PiyushGoyal exhorted the line Ministries that all efforts must be made for farm produce of food grains, fruits and vegetables to reach from farm to market with minimum wastage of time. He also said that a central scheme for cold chain across the country especially for fruits, vegetables and perishables may be made part of the action plan of the draft logistics policy so that it improves efficiency and reduces the loss in agri produce of farmers.

During the review meeting issues relating to rail freight rationalization and freight policy for Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), having immediate implications for modal shift,were discussed at length.

Commerce and Industry Minister also directed that whenever any new road, railway, airport and shipping port project is being considered the Logistics Department must be a part of consultation process so that holistic planning will be possible, freight movement will be rationalized and passenger experience will improve.

India’s logistics sector is highly defragmented andthe aim is to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022. India’s logistics sector is very complex with more than 20 government agencies, 40 PGAs, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications, 10000 commodities, 160 billion market size. It also involves 12 million employment base, 200 shipping agencies, 36 logistic services, 129 ICDs, 168 CFSs, 50 IT ecosystems and banks & insurance agencies. Further, 81 authorities and 500 certificates are required for EXIM.

As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, the Indian logistics sector provides livelihood to more than 22 million people and improving the sector will facilitate 10 % decrease in indirect logistics cost leading to the growth of 5 to 8% in exports. Further, the Survey estimates that the worth of Indian logistics market would be around USD 215 billion in next two years compared to about USD 160 billion currently.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry is formulating the logistics policy so that India’s trade competitiveness grows, more jobs are created, India’s performance in global rankings improves and paves the way for India to become a logistics hub.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1575947

केन्‍द्रीय वाणिज्‍य एवं उद्योग मंत्री श्री पीयूष गोयल, राज्‍य मंत्री श्री हरदीप सिंह पुरी और श्री सोम प्रकाश ने कल देर शाम ई-कॉमर्स कम्‍पनियों के साथ बैठक की। इस बैठक में ई-कॉमर्स कम्‍पनियों तथा छोटे खुदरा व्‍यापारियों के हितों में संतुलन बनाने के तरीकों पर विचार-विमर्श हुआ। इस सत्र में डीपीआईआईटी ने सेवा, खाद्यान्‍न और उपयोग किए गए पुराने सामानों जैसे क्षेत्रों से सम्‍बन्धित मामलों पर विचार-विमर्श किया।

श्री पीयूष गोयल ने उद्योग और आंतरिक व्‍यापार संवर्धन विभाग (डीपीआईआईटी) को निर्देश दिया है कि एक समिति का गठन जल्‍द से जल्द किया जाना चाहिए। डीपीआईआईटी के अवर सचिव को इस समिति का प्रमुख तथा वाणिज्‍य विभाग, एमएसएमई मंत्रालय, उपभोक्‍ता मामलों का मंत्रालय के प्रतिनिधियों और सरकार के कानूनी विशेषज्ञों को इस समिति का सदस्‍य मनोनीत किया जाना चाहिए। समिति ई-कॉमर्स में एफडीआई से सम्‍बन्धित शिकायतों पर विचार करेगी और आवश्‍यक स्‍पष्‍टीकरण प्रदान करेगी।

वाणिज्‍य और उद्योग मंत्री ने कहा कि सरकार छोटे खुदरा विक्रेताओं और किराना दुकानों को उन्‍नति के अवसर दिए जाएंगे। उन्‍होंने कहा कि मंत्रालय छोटे व्‍यापारियों, खुदरा विक्रेताओं, किराना दुकानदारों और ई-कॉमर्स कम्‍पनियों के हितों में संतुलन स्‍थापित करने का हरसंभव प्रयास कर रहा है। एक महीने के बाद इस संबंध में अगली बैठक आयोजित की जाएगी।

बैठक में वाणिज्‍य और उद्योग मंत्री ने कहा कि ई-कॉमर्स नीति पर विचार किया जा रहा है। उन्‍होंने आश्‍वस्‍त किया कि सभी हितधारकों को किसी भी प्रकार के बदलाव को अपनाने के लिए पर्याप्‍त समय दिया जाएगा। उन्‍होंने ई-कॉमर्स कम्पनियों से कानून का अक्षरश: पालन करने का आग्रह किया।

श्री पीयूष गोयल ने कहा कि भारत के हस्‍तशिल्‍प और हैंडलूम उत्‍पादों के विक्रय के लिए ई-कॉमर्स प्‍लेटफार्म का उपयोग किया जाएगा। उन्‍होंने ई-कॉमर्स प्‍लेटफार्म की मदद से निर्यात बढ़ाने पर भी जोर दिया।

श्री गोयल ने कहा कि एमएसएमई और अन्‍य छोटे खुदरा विक्रेताओं के हितों का ध्‍यान रखा जाएगा, लेकिन भारत अर्थव्‍यवस्‍था को आगे ले जाने के लिए प्रौद्योगिकी और डिजिटलीकरण को अपनाना जारी रखेगा।

इस बैठक में डब्‍ल्‍यूटीओ में भारत के राजदूत श्री जे एस दीपक, डीपीआईआईटी के सचिव श्री रमेश अभिषेक, वाणिज्‍य विभाग के सचिव श्री अनूप वधवा और दोनों विभागों के वरिष्‍ठ अधिकारी उपस्थित थे। ई-कॉमर्स कम्‍पनियों के संस्‍थापक, सीईओ और प्रतिनिधियों ने वाणिज्‍य एवं उद्योग मंत्री के समक्ष अपने विचार रखे।

Source: http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1575615

The Northeast Frontier Railway zone, recently shared that the repair and restoration work on the upper deck of the rail-cum-road bridge, has been completed and the bridge has been reopened within its targeted time

The work on the bridge started on March 23, 2019 and it has been repaired and redeveloped in a target period of just 89 days.

Indian Railways Saraighat bridge over Brahmaputra river: In a major relief for commuters, the old rail-cum-road Saraighat bridge over the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati has been reopened after its repair and restoration. The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone, which is headquartered in Guwahati, recently shared that the repair and restoration work on the upper deck of the rail-cum-road bridge, has been completed and the bridge has been reopened within its targeted time. The work on the bridge started on March 23, 2019 and it has been repaired and redeveloped in a target period of just 89 days. The rail-cum-road bridge is a crucial link to the city of Guwahati.

How Indian Railways completed the challenging work on Saraighat Bridge in record time:

• The repair work on the upper deck of the bridge was difficult as the train movement on the lower deck was continuous during the project.
• For the repair and redevelopment project, a total of 500 workers were engaged in the project along with railway engineers to carry out the technically challenging task. The restoration work involved replacing 54 slabs on the entire upper deck as well as 11 expansion joints over the pillars.
• The methods adopted for this replacement were breaking down concrete slabs, expanding joint slabs and removing expansion joints.
• A total of 75 workers per day were involved in breaking the slabs and 45 workers were engaged in cleaning the slabs away from the route.

• In addition to this, 55 to 65 mm thick heavy duty Bituminous Concrete (BC) was laid over the upper deck to facilitate vehicular movement. With this, driving over the bridge even at higher speeds would now be smooth and comfortable. More than 500 tonnes of steel plate and reinforcement rods have been utilized for deck slabs alone.
• For the improvement of aesthetics, road markings, painting of side beams, side railings and fixing of cat eyes has also been done. This has enhanced the overall appearance and infrastructural of the bridge from near and far.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/indian-railways-reopens-iconic-rail-cum-road-saraighat-bridge-in-guwahati-see-beautiful-pics/1618059/