The PHD Chamber of Commerce (PHDCCI) organised the Air Cargo Summit 2022 at the PHD House, New Delhi on the 29th of March. The event was themed on Sustainable growth of Air Cargo – Focus on Gati Shakti Master Plan and was graced by the presence of policymakers and industry stalwarts, among others.
Vipin Vohra, Chair of the PHD Civil Aviation Committee, started the event by presenting a series of pain points of the industry, while also appreciating the role of air cargo during the peak pandemic period as a facilitator for movement of essentials to and from the country. He talked about the persistent challenges of the industry and gave a few suggestive resolutions to those issues. He said that the air cargo industry is the best alternative when it comes to transporting low volume, high-value goods with utmost speed and it has been a silver lining and revenue generator in the toughest times for the Indian economy.
“To ensure faster revival to previous volumes, the Indian air cargo industry also has to overcome a multitude of challenges faced globally and also some of the bottlenecks it still faces domestically. This crisis is a critical wake-up call for the Indian Air cargo industry. Digitisation across the sector resulting in a more enterprising industry and end-to-end adaptation of AI & IT tools, to propel this industry into a sustainable & secure future is the need of the hour,” he said.
In his special address to the audience, Sudhendu J. Sinha, Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity – Transport and Electric Mobility), NITI Aayog, said that policy integration and synchronisation among departments is the backbone of the Gati Shakti Master Plan and the fact that Gati Shakti is instrumental in India’s infrastructural development.
Mr. Sinha stressed that policies formulated by the government have the vision of alignment to push forward the sectors towards a national goal. “Gati Shakti shall be a game-changer in infrastructure development as it will provide a digital framework for the formulation of all the infra projects in India. All details and information, even at the granular level, are precisely covered under it which will further enhance the performance and transparency of the projects,” he added.
Piyush Srivastava, Sr. Economic Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation made the keynote address at the event, wherein, he share some of the key ideas of the Gati Shakti Master Plan. He said that the ultimate focus should be on the planning and formulation of policies so that wastage of resources is avoided, and that industry and ministry should join hands to fast forward the implementation of policies.
According to Mr. Srivastava, “PM Gatishkati is a blueprint of Amritkaal with target to develop a multi modal approach in logistics and ‘Sabka Prayas’ will empower this program in coming future. He also suggested that Power Cargo Airports need to be developed as international transshipment hubs which are futuristic and inclusive.“
The Guest of Honour at the event, Amrit Lal Meena (IAS), Special Secretary – Logistics Division, DPIIT addressed the audience with his deliberations, mentioning that the ultimate goal is to take measures to decrease logistics costs by implementing multimodal connectivity infrastructure, user integration and digitisation of processes. He also said that the enhanced capital expenditure allocation by this year’s Union Budget, for all industries will help achieve the targets by 2025. He also discussed at length about ULIP and the upcoming plans for air cargo sector.
“ULIP will play an important role as it will facilitate a user with the information and access to all 24 systems as per their convenience. A framework of resolutions will be prepared to address these issues, if required will take further steps and will solve it in time bound manner,” he said.
The event also had 2-panel discussions among various leaders of the air cargo industry. While the first-panel discussion revolved around strategies for sustainable future growth of air cargo, including that of the pharma supply chain ecosystem, the second-panel discussion concentrated on innovation and digitisation of the air cargo industry keeping in mind the future growth.
The event was sponsored by PHDCCI’s Annual Sponsors – Multani Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Star Wire, DLF Ltd., Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd., Belair Travel & Cargo Pvt. Ltd., Radico Khaitan Ltd., Jindal Steel & Power, Samsung India Electronics, EaseMyTrip, Oswal Greentech, Trident Group and MV Cotspin Ltd., among many others.
