Logistics is an upcoming and rapidly growing sector of Indian economy. With the explosion of organised retail, logistics has assumed greater importance. Read about information on major logistics conferences to be held in India
Logistics CONQUEST in Delhi : Report on Two days Conference Resurgent India: CONQUEST in Delhi
At Conquest 2008, New Delhi, an international conference on infrastructure, logistics & transport, eminent and experienced speakers threw light on how to enhance hinterland connectivity to ensure seamless movement for the endusers and boost multimodal transportation GLOBALISATION has led to increased competition, thus thrusting the traditional management systems towards more contemporary operations. In India, Logistics costs are said to be one of the highest in the world and greater connectivity between ports and end users will save our country and businesses an upward of 500 Crores every year.
At Conquest 2008, New Delhi, an international conference on infrastructure, logistics & transport, eminent and experienced speakers threw light on how to enhance hinterland connectivity to ensure seamless movement for the endusers and boost multimodal transportation.
Theme of the conference was “Resurgent India : Multimodal Logistics- Challenges Opportunities and 2 day conference on 9th and 10th April, 2008 saw participation from some of the top decision makers from Indian Ports, Cargo & Shipping Companies, Ship Agencies, Financial Institutions, Software, Logistics & Infrastructure companies.
Day One began with traditional lamp lighting by distinguished guests including Mr. A.P.V.N Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Mr. DS Rawat, Sec. Gen, ASSOCHAM, Mr. MP Pinto, Former Sec, Ministry of Shipping, Mr. Venugopal N Dhoot, President, ASSOCHAM and Mr. S. Hajara, Chairman MD SCI.
Mr. Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon group said,” With the large influx of manufactured goods into India and also the export of large quantity of Goods, Shipping and Port Infrastructure has caught the attention of Many Big Industrial Giants of India and we will continue to see Indian shipping operation acquiring world standard efficiency and economic muscle.
The Chief Guest at the Conference, Mr. A.P.V.N Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping said; Government is committed to support and encourage Maritime Logistics Industry. We are happy to see whole shipping industry engaging proactively in Making India an efficient logistics and manufacturing hub.”
First technical session was named, “Container Revolution: History and future Development andwaschaired by Mr. S Hajara, MD, SCI.
Mr. S.N. Srikanth, Founder - Hauer Associates led the audience through history of containerization and his topic was Containerization over the ages - Prospects Challenges for the future.
He remarked that Containerization has changed the whole civilization and 50 years back, no one could even think of making small toys in china and delivering it to Timbuktu villages and Manhattan stores at a fraction of manufacturing cost without breakage and pilferage.
The container shipping industry dates to 1956, when trucking entrepreneur Malcom McLean put 58 containers aboard a refitted tanker ship, the MV Ideal-X, and sailed them from Newark to Houston. What was new in the USA about McLean's innovation was the idea of using large containers
Malcom Maclean had originally thought that containers will reduce the cost of transportation between New York and American South West. And in just 50 years, the containerization has revolutionized world trade and multi modal logistics.” The presentation laced with modern day figures and projection for the future did provide valuable inside into growth of containerization in India.
Mr. Peter Tirschwell, Senior Advisor – The Journal of Commerce, outlined the challenges before shipping industry.
Mr. Jan Steffens, Managing Director Rickmer Line, provided a different thought to the growing level of containerization with his presentation about Future of Combi / Multipurpose vessels : Compatibility with Indian Ports”. He said,” While growing level of containerization is welcome but Lot of growth is also happening in Heavy Lift, project cargo and Multipurpose vessels. During last decade, everyone thought that General cargo Ships are dead and will not survive in the future. But specialized Multipurpose vessels are very much in demand and in some cases getting higher Charter rates than container ships of comparable size.
Second technical session dealt with a very hotly discussed topic, Indian Ports - Capacity Constraints & Requirement for the future”
With rapid and large scale infrastructure work being undertaken in Indian Ports, delegates were of the view that increased competition between ports will help all stake holders to provide better services at reduced costs to their clients.
Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Jt.Secretary (Ports) - MoS gave An overview of Port Development in India, “ Non Major Ports in India will have a capacity addition of 1087 MT by 2012 and Government will provide additional help and subsidy in Infrastructure development….. A Fund to help Non Major Ports on the lines of National Maritime Development Fund is being mooted to enable investment in facilitating port connectivity.”
Mr. Ramnath Iyer, Director – PPP Practice (CRISIL), said that West and East coast will become hub for different commodities. While West Coast will continue to generate more container cargo , East Coast has capacity to become a Major break bulk destination with availability of deep draft ports and proximity to mineral rich regions of India.
Capt. Sriram Ravi Chander, COO, Vishakha Port Terminal spoke on Emerging Alternative Gateway for Container & other Traffic – East Coast. Introducing the Southern Gateway, Vishakha Port Terminal, he Knowledge Sharing Club For Shipping marinersnetwork.com VPT is one port in India that is planned and completed ahead of time and out facilities are geared to handle increased amount of cargo in the coming decade and we have number 6 port in India in term of reefer handling.
VPT is equipped to handle some of the largest container ships and Phase II expansion will see VPT embrace better technology to cater to the needs of shippers in South India as well from North and West India as well”
Third technical session was on “ Indian Ports - Emergence & Development of Non Major Ports” and was chaired by Mr. DT Joseph, Former Sec, Ministry of Shipping. In this session delegates heard well prepared presentations by Dr. Jose Paul, Former Acting Chairman, JN Port, Mumbai, Former Chairman, Mormugao Port Trust on Development of Non major Ports; Capt. Sandeep Mehta, CEO - Mundra Port & SEZ Ltd.on Non Major Ports : The new investments destinations & Developers Perspective; Mr. Santosh Mahapatra (CEO Dhamra Port) on Developing of Non Major Ports : Issues & Challenges; Mr.Philip Littlejohn, M.D. Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd, on A case study of a private developer and Mr. Sanjay K. Parida, AVP (Capital Market)– Axis Bank on Financing Investment in Infrastructure and Ports.
All the speakers and delegates were of the opinion that Government and Planning Agencies should take a holistic view of the Port development scheme and should simultaneously work on Road and rail connectivity issues. Owing to the large scale investment required and plethora of Ministries involved in sanctioning a project, most of the speakers opined that a single ministry of Logistics or single Government Panel on logistics will help Indian Economy and logistics unshackle its slow growth & high cost pattern.
Day One was concluded by a Networking Reception and dinner and all the assembled dignitaries benefitted by discussing best trade practices and business enhancement opportunities among each other.
Capt Ashish Kulshrestha of CSAV Agencies India said, India is fast emerging as preferred and high growth destination for International Shipping Lines and CSAV have made large investment in human capital in India. CSAV has shifted lot of ship planning activities to India and we are committed to contribute and engage in growth story of Indian Logistics.
Day Two began with a technical session on Infrastructure Connectivity and was chaired by Mr.S.S.Hussain, Chairman JNPT.
No Interaction on Connectivity with hinterland is complete without liaising with customs and so a senor official from Indian Customs, Mr. Rajiv Singh was the first speaker of the day. His comments drew the loudest cheers from the assembled delegates when he said that, We have abolished certain custom procedures that were redundant. So much so that now in majority of cases, cargo spends maximum of 8 hours for custom clearance and certain new procedure like e clearance is fast becoming the norm.
By Increasing efficiency, Customs have also increased compliance, as industry is ready to pay due duty for streamlined hassle free procedures.
Container Journey from Panvel to Ludhiana
Focus of Mr. Sanjiv Garg, Director RVNL was on dedicated freight Corridor when he spoke on the topic of “Connecting Ports to the Hinterland : Recent trends and future prospects
“ Railways are committed to provide last mile connectivity and we are at advanced stages of developing Freight Corridor line between Panvel to Ludhiana. Apart from that, all major Ports will have 4 lane road and 2 lane rail connectivity. Most of the upcoming projects will be Build , Operate, transfer basis (BOT) and Toll Funded to encourage private funding, He announced.
During the conference, one of the most talked about Innovative infrastructure company was Quadricon who have come up with a patented technology to develop 6 to 8 lane elevated cross country express highways in combination with under slung container transportation system powered by aero engines.
Mr. A.S. Bhagat, CMD, Quadricon Pvt Ltd said,” We are seeing the result of 35 years of sustained effort and design innovation at technology development with in-depth survey and feasibility study carried out in 20 countries with encouragement from world bank. We completed 6 lane flyover in Mumbai without any traffic hold up and also a single span bridge on river Chenab with this indigenous technology.
Fifth technical session was on Extra Mileage from Seamless Logistics chaired by Mr. R. Gopalan, Additional Secretary – Dept. of Commerce where he opined that though there is need for control and regulations in the Indian shipping industry, Government and customs take its role of facilitator rather seriously to help the industry grow.
Keynote Address was by Mr. Krishna Kotak, M.D. (J.M. Baxi Group) onTrade and Industry expectations. Mr. S. S. Rangnekar, CEO ,SICAL talked aboutBuilding an Integrated System : Infrastructure for the new era. And Mr. Yogendra Sharma, CEO - Adani Logistics Ltd dealt with Progress on ICDs CFSs. Mr. Shankar Chatterjee, M.D.,Bertling Logistics, highlighted the Short fall in service level with Forwarders perspective. Mr. MM Parthibhan, Director CBEC, highlighted the role of customs as Facilitating Agency.
The Last session was on Expectation from Different stakeholders and was Chaired by Capt R. Ramachandran, President, NISAA. He said,” We wish to have similar procedures and guidelines in all ports in a region so that shipping and logistics service providers can provide better services to end users.
Knowledge Sharing Club For Shipping Capt DK Tewari, CEO, MSC Agencies, said, Government should practice autonomy in Ports and delegate some decision making and authority to the chairman of the ports to enable them to make long term plans. Everyone will benefit in terms of better infrastructure and equipment and lower costs from the operators.
Capt J.S. Gill, Member, Expert Committee ASSOCHAM, summed up the Expectations from Shippers and stressed on the need for fair trade practices and open legislation from the government to enable level playing field to all.
Vote of Thanks was read by Mr. Nikhil Modi from the organizers. Organizers, ASSOCHAM Fair Play Expositions got lot of kudos from all delegates for organizing a wonderful shipping and logistics summit in North India.
