UPSC Articles
Fast Tracking Freight in India: NITI Aayog
Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Infrastructure
In news
- NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India’s new report, “Fast Tracking Freight in India: A Roadmap for Clean and Cost-Effective Goods Transport”, present key opportunities for India to reduce its logistics costs.
- The report outlines solutions for freight sector related to policy, Technology, Business models and infrastructure development
- Freight transportation is the process of transporting commodities, goods and cargo balance by land, sea or air
- Logistics sector represents 5% of India’s GDP and employs 2.2 crore people.
- Due to the rising demand for goods and services, freight transport demand is expected to grow rapidly in the future.
According to the report, India has the potential to
- Reduce its logistics cost by 4% of GDP
- Achieve 10 gigatonnes of cumulative CO2 emissions savings between 2020 and 2050
- Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 35% and 28%, respectively, until 2050
Issues
- High logistics costs
- Contributes to rising CO2 emissions and air pollution in cities.
Recommendations
- Increasing the rail network’s capacity
- Promoting intermodal transport
- Improving warehousing and trucking practices
- Policy measures
- Pilot projects for clean technology adoption
- Stricter fuel economy standards.
Recent Initiatives for freight transportation:
- Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC): Railway corridor that is exclusively meant for the transportation of freight,
- E-Way Bill Integration with FASTag, RFID
- FAME Scheme: adoption of electric vehicles (EV), with a goal of reaching 30% EV penetration by 2030.
- Bharat Stage VI norms
- Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Regulations: aim to increase fuel efficiency of vehicles on the road by 35% by 2030.
