CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 8
F R O N T L I N E
NITIN GADKARI
Union Minister for Road
Transport and Highways
SARBANANDA
SONOWAL
Union Minister for Ports,
Shipping and Waterways
In Karnataka, projects worth 3 lakh
crore are in progress at different stages
and projects worth 5 lakh crore and
schemes will be taken up over the next
five years. New roads are being
constructed along with other beneficial
schemes. Four lane highway is being
constructed between Hasan-Raichur and
estimated to be completed by December
this year. Bengaluru-Chennai highway is
also near its completion. Highway work
between Hubballi-Dharwad is also in
progress with 70% completion.
Joint feasibility studies of port-linked
industrial zones will be launched soon.
The Sittwe port (in Myanmar) is ready.
Now work is going on to develop the road
connectivity to Aizawl. The entire Kaladan
Multimodal Transit Transport Project will
be operational by 2027. The distance
between Aizawl and Kolkata will be
shortened by 700 km once the project is
ready. My ministry is investing 1,000
crore in developing the waterways of the
project, while other agencies are taking
care of the rest.
Recent reforms have focused on
streamlining the tariff structure and
facilitating trade. With the changing
trade scenario, India is moving
towards having preferential/free trade
agreements wherein customs tariffs
and non-tariff barriers are reduced or
eliminated on substantial trade
between the trade pact members. The
government has initiated
comprehensive tariff reforms to
JITIN PRASADA
correct inverted duty structures
Minister of State for Commerce wherein import duties on raw
and Industry
materials exceed those
on finished products.
ANITA PRAVEEN
Chairperson, Warehousing
Development and Regulatory
Authority (WDRA)
India has identified more than
100,000 warehouses as part of a push to
reduce post-harvest losses. We are trying
to bring in as many as possible into the
fold of WDRA. At the moment, these
warehouses cover 164 commodities but
the plan is gearing up towards expansion
of this list. We do regular inspections and
at the time of registration of the
warehouses, we ensure that the quality
standards are met. On a six-monthly
basis, we also take care that these
stocks are available.
8 | CARGOCONNECT AUGUST 2025
PIYUSH GOYAL
Union Minister for Commerce
and Industry
ASHWINI VAISHNAW
Union Minister for Railways,
Communications, and IT
PANKAJ KUMAR
Joint Secretary– Logistics,
DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce
and Industry
PIETER ELBERS
CEO, IndiGo (InterGlobe
Aviation)
The aspirations and dreams of a young
country with one of the youngest
populations globally are driving R&D,
technology, and our startup ecosystem.
10,000 crore were allocated in the
previous budget to develop the deep tech
ecosystem. An additional 10,000 crore
have now been sanctioned to further
support innovation and emerging
technologies. India is expected to be the
third-largest economy by 2027. New
technologies will define India’s growth
story in the coming years.
India is developing its own
capabilities in electronics
manufacturing in a very methodical and
sustained way and is poised to achieve
its value-addition target of 38% within
the next five years. We are on a clear
path to crossing 30% in the coming two
to three years. De-risking is learning
the skills and making it here and
developing our own supply chain, which
is what we are doing. We know that
there will be challenges in every growth
path, but we have the confidence that
we will be able to sustain our
growth.
India’s complex geography makes
efficient logistics vital, not just for
economic growth, but also for everyday
life and emergency response. We are
working to further reduce the regulatory
issues (in the logistics sector) to enhance
Ease of Doing Business and attract more
investments. But the government alone
cannot achieve the targeted goals. Every
stakeholder, including the industry and
business community, must participate to
further boost the logistics sector in
the country.
The fact that we are touching down
now in Europe is a big thing. You have
seen our network over the past few
years. We’re not a single hub operator.
We have multiple origins — Delhi,
Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore. My
current focus is ensuring strong
positioning in Europe first. There are
also large Asian markets still untapped.
There still are parts of Asia where we
don’t have any operations. With our
partners Delta and, we will connect
passengers to 20 North American
cities (from Amsterdam).
