Govt looks to take share of water transport to 15% in 5 yrs

To ensure the success of 'Make in India' initiative, the government is committed to bring down the high logistics cost to 12 per cent and raise the share of waterways transportation to 15 per cent in the next five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
At present the country's logistics cost is 18 per cent while barely 3.5 per cent of goods are transported through waterways.
"Make in India scheme will be a great success if we can bring down the high logistics cost from 18 per cent to at least 12 per cent. In China, it is 8 per cent. The government is making efforts in this direction as goods transportation through water costs barely 20 paise per km in comparison to Rs 1.5 a km through road and Re 1 per km through railways," Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Gadkari said.

The Minister while launching a joint report by Transport Corporation of India (TCI) and IIM, Kolkata on "Operational Efficiency of Freight Transportation by Road in India" also urged logistic companies like TCI and others to shift from roads to water transportation and buy ships saying massive work is underway on waterways which is the government's top priority.
"Buy ships. Waterways is our top priority. We have given infrastructure status to shipbuilding and offering subsidies. There are plans to develop 2,000 waterports," the Minister urged the logistic firms.
He said work on 10 waterways was scheduled to begin before December and tenders have already been received to develop two waterways to export iron ore from Goa.

"Our target is to ensure at least 15 per cent of goods transport through water in the next five years. At present, barely 3.5 per cent of the goods transportation in India takes through this route," the minister said.

He also urged truckers to use double axle trucks to minimise pollution besides carrying high quantity of goods and asked transporters to ensure that only trained drivers got access to driving, lamenting that generally trucks were found driving in the first lane.
The minister said that to ensure comfort to truck drivers, it has been decided that all new trucks will have air conditioned cabins. The government is also planning to construct truck clubs alongside the highways in the proposed 1,300 highways amenities of which the tender has already been floated for 70.

He said India has 22 per cent shortage of drivers and about 33 per cent of driving licences are bogus and to ensure a transparent transport sector regime, a Group of Ministers from States is meeting in Dharmashala on June 12 and would finalise their reports on Motor Bill in the meeting at Laddakh.
Based on their recommendations, the Bill will be finalised and introduced in the upcoming Parliament session, he said.
Gadkari also unveiled the joint study report titled
"Operational Efficiency of Freight Transportation by Road in India" by the Transport Corporation of India (TCI), in collaboration with IIM Calcutta.

The report is based on the joint survey of road freight transportation on 28 key routes in India.
The report mentions that India incurs annually USD 14.7 billion on additional fuel consumption costs and USD 6.6 billion in losses due to transportation delays.
Gadkari said the government will work to plug these gaps and reduce the cost burden.
The report further said the road transport sector plays a significant role in the country as the total contribution of the transport sector to India's GDP was 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, out of which roads contributed 4.8 per cent as compared to 1 per cent of the railways.

There is a pressing demand for faster expansion of the road network to widen and improve the conditions of the existing roads through periodic maintenance, it said.
Vineet Agarwal, MD, TCI, said, "Freight transportation by road is a very vital component of India's economy. Understanding the best ways to enhance its operational efficiency is therefore very important for the growth of the country and for bolstering internal commerce."
He said the report seeks to understand how road infrastructure needs to keep pace with the increasing traffic and suggests key areas that need to be looked at to ensure that freight transport by road becomes more cost-effective and speedy for all stakeholders involved.

Key recommendations of the report suggest that the government should resolve issues regarding GST with various stakeholders to reduce the stoppage delays that take place for documentation check and tax collections.
"Fuel efficiency in terms of mileage has to be increased. This is currently suffering from slow vehicular speeds due to poor road conditions, traffic jams, multiple on-road stops, long queues, idling at check posts and old vehicles," it said.
Issues in relation to rail freight transportation faced by shippers need to be addressed and resolved, it said adding the government should broaden the scope of multi-modal transportation under the Multi-Modal Transportation of Goods Act, 1993 in India as it is more economic, efficient and eco-friendly.

"The government should encourage private participation and assume active roles in multi-modal logistics parks by providing incentives on investments for such projects," it further said.
It said as shipping in summer and monsoon months proved less lucrative for truckers due to poor road conditions, the government should ensure road building and maintenance around these months for smoother vehicular movement.