- PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan platform could soon be accessible to the private sector: Dr Surendra Ahirwar, Joint Secretary, DPIIT.
- The experiential centre at ITPO showcasing the PM Gati Shakti initiative is set to be open to the public.
NEW DELHI. : Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) Chairman T K Manoj Kumar has made a compelling case for the mandatory registration of commodity warehouses in India, arguing that such a move would significantly improve standards across the sector.
Speaking at FICCI’s 2nd National Warehousing & Supply Chain Summit, Mr Kumar emphasised the need for all warehouses to adhere to standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
The WDRA chairman highlighted that such a move would instill confidence in both domestic and international investors, ensuring that stored goods meet scientific standards designed to minimise storage losses.
Mr Kumar also stressed the importance of pledge financing in commodity warehousing, describing it as “a very important part” of the sector. He explained that pledge financing allows depositors to obtain funds against stored commodities, enabling them to hold goods until market conditions are favourable for sale. “Pledge finance is an area which in WDRA, we are trying our level best to promote.”
The WDRA chief also touched upon the need for warehouses to diversify their services, suggesting the implementation of subsidiary activities such as sorting, grading, and packaging. These additional services, he argued, could help improve returns for warehouse operators in what he described as a “cyclical industry”.
Kumar painted a picture of a sector ripe for modernisation, particularly in rural areas and tier-two cities. “We need to improve the warehousing stock of commodity warehouses in this country, because the stock is slightly old,” Mr Kumar observed. “They have to be upgraded. They have to be made more scientific.”
In a call to action for the industry, Kumar emphasised the critical role of digitisation in modernising warehouse operations. He revealed that while WDRA has fully digitised receipts for registered warehouses, many facilities, particularly in smaller cities, still rely on paper-based systems.
Dr Surendra Ahirwar, Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), announced that the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan platform could soon be accessible to the private sector.
“In the very near future, you would see that PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan platform can, or would be, opened to the private sector,” Dr Ahirwar stated. “This will provide you a huge opportunity for using that data, the geospatial data about infrastructure, which is there, stored or stacked in the NMP, for taking decisions about locating your warehouses, or connecting to the market potential, national or even international.”
In addition, Dr Ahirwar revealed that a new experiential centre showcasing the PM Gati Shakti initiative has been established at the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) complex in New Delhi, is set to open to the public imminently. The centre demonstrates “the effect of technology in infrastructure development in the most technological and high-tech ways.”
In his welcome address, Mr Amit Kumar, Co-Chairman of the FICCI Committee on Logistics and and Director, Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects, noted that the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan has revolutionised India’s approach to infrastructure development in its three years since inception. He underlined that it has integrated an impressive 1,529 data layers from 44 ministries and 36 states and union territories. This comprehensive approach has facilitated the evaluation of 213 projects worth ₹15.4 lakh crores and identified 156 critical infrastructure gaps in first and last-mile connectivity across key economic sectors.
On occasion, Mr Sanjay Bajpai, Executive Director of CONCOR, emphasised the rapid evolution of India’s warehousing sector, driven by digitalisation and infrastructure development. “I believe that the future of warehousing lies in embracing innovation and technology inclusion. Innovation will be the key to unlocking efficiencies across supply chains, making us more competitive on the global stage. As an industry, we need to remain committed to adopting cutting-edge solutions, not only to streamline logistics operations, but also create a sustainable and resilient supply chain,” he said.
