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Contents
What is the News?
NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute(RMI) has released a report titled “Fast Tracking Freight in India: A Roadmap for Clean and Cost-Effective Goods Transport”.
Objectives of the Fast Tracking Freight in India Report:
- Establish a coherent vision for a cost-effective, clean, and optimised freight transport system in India.
- Quantify the economic, environmental, and public health benefits of the freight system.
- Describe techno-economically feasible solutions that would collectively deliver those benefits.
India’s Logistics Sector:
- Currently, India’s logistics sector represents 5% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector employs around 2.2 crore people.
- India handles 6 billion tonnes of goods each year, amounting to a total annual cost of INR 9.5 lakh crore.
- These goods represent a variety of domestic industries and products:
- 22% are agricultural goods,
- 39% are mining products and
- 39% are manufacturing-related commodities.
- Trucks and other vehicles handle most of the movement of these goods. Railways, coastal and inland waterways, pipelines, and airways account for the rest.
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Measures need to accommodate more urban citizens:
- India’s freight activity will grow five-fold by 2050 and about 400 million citizens move to cities. So, a whole system transformation can help uplift the freight sector.
- This transformation will be defined by tapping into opportunities such as:
- Increasing share of rail-based transport
- Optimisation of logistics and supply chains.
- Shift to electric and other clean-fuel vehicles.
- These solutions can help India save Rs. 311 lakh crore cumulatively over the next three decades
Other measures recommended by the Fast Tracking Freight in India Report:
The Logistic sector can reduce its rising CO2 emissions and high logistic costs by following measures:
- Increasing the rail network’s capacity
- Promoting intermodal transport
- Improving warehousing and trucking practices
- Policy measures and pilot projects for clean technology adoption and
- Stricter fuel economy standards.
Benefits of these measures: These measures will lead to the following benefits:
- Reduces the logistics cost by 4% of GDP
- Achieves 10 gigatonnes of cumulative CO2 emissions savings between 2020 and 2050
- Reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 35% and 28%, respectively until 2050.
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Source: PIB
