Govt working on single logistic law for all modes of transportation: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (File image: Reuters)

The government is working on bringing a single logistic law for all modes of freight transportation to eradicate duplication of processes and simplify procedural requirements, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister further said the public-private partnership model should be encouraged for the development of air cargo infrastructure in the country. The Road Transport and Highways Minister further said the public-private partnership model should be encouraged for the development of air cargo infrastructure in the country.

"The government is working on bringing a single logistic law for all modes of freight transportation to eradicate duplication of processes and simplify procedural requirements. "This system will facilitate multi-modal transportation in the true sense," Gadkari said while addressing the 12th DACAAI AGM.

While noting that at the moment India's logistic cost is around 14 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), Gadkari said the government's aim is to reduce the logistic cost to 8 per cent. He pointed out that in the domestic aviation market, air cargo share is very low, and the challenges are many.

"Aviation infrastructure should be developed using the latest technology...if we can make aviation infrastructure efficient and accessible, then it will create a huge difference," Gadkari emphasised. Stating that air cargo has the biggest advantage of speed, he said, "We have a huge flight capacity, utilisation should be improved by taking appropriate measures."

While noting that economic viability is very important, Gadkari said that domestic air cargo is more suitable for the transport of fuels, vegetables, flowers and seafood. He suggested that old defence aircraft can be used for the transportation of fish and fruits to reduce transit time for such products.

"If we could transport more volume by air then the logistic cost would reduce," the minister said. Gadkari also said biofuels can be used as aviation fuel as aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is costly.