New Delhi (NVI): The Central government is working to ensure that the entire rail network will be fully electrified by December 2023 and will run on renewable energy by 2030, Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal today said.
Further, he said that there is a need to reduce the logistics cost so that the international and domestic freight costs will reduce from 13-14 percent cost of goods to a more acceptable international benchmark of 8 percent.
Piyush Goyal was addressing the virtual session ‘Investment Opportunities in Andhra Pradesh’, during the ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’, organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, jointly with FICCI.
“Bringing down the logistics cost is the need of the hour today. India cannot be competitive as long as our logistics cost remains so high. We are working on multi-modal logistics solutions to bring down the cost of transportation & increase supply chain efficiency,” Goyal said.
He added, “It’s time that we plan our port sector in such a manner that we can have modern and efficient ports, the turnaround time of ships can be brought down significantly. A more competitive spirit will help to keep the cost in freight and at port low.”
Goyal said that India has had a glorious maritime history and we are on the path to building an even greater maritime future.
“In the last 6 years, the capacity of our major ports has almost doubled. We have developed smart cities and industrial parks and integrated ports with the coastal economic zones. Integration of Road, Rail & Waterways can truly make India ‘One Nation, One Market, One Supply’,” he added.
Maritime India summit 2021, he said will be the beginning of our victory against high freight costs, our victory to be an international player in the maritime sector, our victory in ensuring jobs.
“Under PM’s leadership, the country has had a very rapid V-shaped recovery. This Maritime India Summit 2021 will be the beginning of our victory to be an international player in the sector,” he added.
In addition, highlighting the potential in Andhra Pradesh, the Union Minister said that the government is working closely with the Govt of Andhra Pradesh to further develop road, rail, and port infrastructure and promote dedicated freight corridor both for encouraging economic activities and bring manufacturing activity & promote industrial parks in the State.
He further stated that the maritime sector is a very critical sector for Atmanirbhar Bharat. We are working to turn our coastal region into a role model for ease of living and ease of doing business, he noted.
“If we re-invent with technology-driven solutions like robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, our sector is SAFE- Sustainable, Agile, Futuristic, Efficient. I appeal to all stakeholders to utilize this opportunity to transform from being ‘service provider’ to ‘knowledge provider’,” Goyal asserted.
R Karikal Valaven, Special Chief Secretary Industries, Andhra Pradesh, said that the state is a natural choice for any investor to come and invest because of a very vibrant coastline.
He further said that it is the endeavour of the state government to reduce the cost of doing business. “The state has a very good network of roads and railways and now with port infrastructure, the maritime economy is going to thrive. We are developing multimodal logistics parks to facilitate transportation,” he added.
Highlighting the State’s industrial policy, YSR AP1, Valaven said that it is a one-stop-shop for investors providing all solutions, handholding, facilitation, market support, and all support required for doing business.
-CHK
