New Delhi: Minister of State for Port, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur said on Thursday that India is leading to becoming the third largest economic power and will play an important role in increasing the exports of India and waterways.

Addressing a conference on export logistics organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister emphasized that it is necessary to pay equal and balanced attention to the development of each region.

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Thakur emphasized that it is very important to reduce the turnaround time of ships in goods transport. Thakur said, “Since 70 percent of trade is through shipping, there is a need for widespread development of the shipping industry.”

He also said that the use of artificial intelligence is mandatory for the intense development of shipping and logistics sector.

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The minister referred to the need for better communication to establish a strong contact structure, incorporating both types of contacts from the northeastern region to the north-west part of India.

Speaking at the conference, Rajesh Aggarwal, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, highlighted three important factors in India’s Logistics Yatra. First, the container revolution played an important role in increasing the role of global value chains (GVC).

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He emphasized the importance of India’s ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) dialogues in increasing India’s participation in GVC. He said that the identity of deficiencies in multimodal transport and bringing all the stakeholders together would reduce the logistics cost, which will boost exports and growth in Indian economy.

Secondly, Aggarwal said that in addition to increasing cold chain logistics in the agricultural sector of India, more air cargo space, port space, rail and road space are required.

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He further explained that to get net zero emissions by 2027, it is necessary to ensure that the logistics journey on India is durable and emit minimal carbon.

Inland Waterways Authority Chairman Vijay Kumar discussed the role of India’s transformative journey and 2 trillion exports by 2030 and the role of inland waterways in realizing India’s ambitious target of achieving the Net Zero emission target by 2070.

He further said, “If the cost of logistics is to reduce to one digit, we have to meet the dual goals of economy and stability, then inland waterway transport is the solution.”

Kumar also discussed important steps taken by the government to resolve major industry issues including water availability and draft variability, and highlighted the importance of multimodal connectivity and cargo aggregation centers to reduce the cost of first and final miles.