FAST TRACKING FREIGHT IN INDIA

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• NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India’s new report, Fast Tracking Freight in India: A Roadmap for Clean and Cost-Effective Goods Transport, present key opportunities for India to reduce its logistics costs.
• RMI is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1982.

NITI Aayog

• It is a public policy think tank of the Government of India, established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals with cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach.
• It was established to replace the Planning Commission. The Prime Minister is its ex-officio chairman.

Important points:

• Due to the rising demand for goods and services, freight transport demand is expected to grow rapidly in the future.
• While freight transport is essential to economic development, it is plagued by high logistics costs and contributes to rising carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution in cities.
• Reduce its logistics cost by 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• Achieve 10 gigatonnes of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions savings between 2020 and 2050.
• Reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions by 35% and 28%, respectively, until 2050.
• Freight transportation is a critical backbone of India’s growing economy, and now more than ever, it’s important to make this transport system more cost-effective, efficient, and cleaner.
• Efficient freight transport will also play an essential role in realising the benefits of existing government initiatives such as Make in India, Atma Nirbhar Bharat, and Digital India.

Recommendations:

• Increasing the rail network’s capacity, promoting intermodal transport, improving warehousing and trucking practices, policy measures and pilot projects for clean technology adoption, and stricter fuel economy standards.
• When successfully deployed at scale, the proposed solutions can help India establish itself as a leader in logistics innovation and efficiency in the Asia–Pacific region and beyond.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES ,MINT