Turkey's state grain board TMO has started making provisional purchases of wheat in an international tender on Wednesday with about 175,000 tonnes initially bought, traders said.

 

The tender seeks 435,000 tonnes and more purchases are expected later on Wednesday.

 

The purchases in TMO’s tenders are provisional and subject to final confirmation in coming days. Purchases can be reduced or cancelled completely.

 

Both imports and wheat already in warehouses in Turkey could be offered in the tender for shipment/delivery between March 10-April 8.

 

Traders said the tender was dominated by offers of wheat already in warehouses inside Turkey, with Ukrainian and Russian exports disrupted by the fighting in Ukraine.

 

Some export houses have been shipping Russian wheat into Turkey in advance of sales to escape repeated increases in Russia's export taxes.

 

Traders reported these provisional purchases with port of unloading/delivery, tonnes sold, protein content, seller, price in dollars a tonne and if to be delivered from a warehouse in Turkey:

 

Port Tonnes Seller Protein Price If warehouse

 

Iskenderun 25,000 Kibar 13.5% $408.90 warehouse

 

Iskenderun 25,000 Aston 12.5% $410.80 warehouse

 

Iskenderun 25,000 Aston 13.5% $414.80 warehouse

 

Mersin 25,000 Grain Star 12.5% $442.80 warehouse

 

Mersin 50,000 Erser 13.5% $447.00 warehouse

 

Derince 25,000 Erser 13.5% $470.00 warehouse

 

'I think this tender is another illustration of the financial pain faced by importers after wheat prices rose so sharply since the conflict in Ukraine started last week,' one European trader said.

 

In its last wheat purchase on Jan. 18, Turkey bought some 335,000 tonnes at the lowest price of $341.90 a tonne c&f

Government’s agri export promotion body APEDA and re-financing agency Nabard will soon impart training to 30 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in Varanasi, Mirzapur, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur and Chandauli districts of Uttar Pradesh as part of a five-year plan to boost agricultural exports.

 

Already the government has allotted different agri products to these districts under 'One District One Product' scheme – chilli for Varanasi, tomato in Mirzapur and Chandauli, onion for Ghazipur and Kala Namak rice variety in Gorakhpur.

 

Earlier this week, both Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Nabard have agreed to launch the training programme at the earliest, sources said.

 

Nabard Consultancy Services (NABCONS) will be the project manager to implement the training programme, the sources added.

 

Pilot initiative

 

Confirming the development, APEDA Chairman M Angamuthu said: 'This is a pilot initiative and we will extend it to next level soon.'

 

'The course curriculum will be customised by Nabcons in consultation with APEDA for imparting focused training on export oriented theme,' he said.

 

Such training programmes will strengthen the role of FPOs in the export value chain, he added.

 

There are a total of 117 FPOs and farmer producers’ companies (FPCs), including 30 such bodies promoted by Nabard,have been operational in these five districts.

 

Besides NABARD, APEDA has also signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with other implementing agencies of FPOs scheme – Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

 

Under these MoUs, APEDA willoprovide technical knowhow to tPOs to upscale infrastructure created for post-harvest management to promote exports.

 

APEDA will also assist FPOs in certification of organic produce.

 

FPOs promotion scheme

The government in 2020 had launched 'Formation and Promotion of FPOs' scheme under which 10,000 new FPOs are targeted to be formed by 2027-28.

 

Under the scheme, the Centre grants up to Rs33 lakh as handholding and financial support for five years to each new FPO. Also, a credit guarantee facility up to Rs2 crore of project loan per FPO is in place.

The Government of India is actively considering creating buffer stock for edible oil. The Government has shown positive inclination towards setting up buffer stocks of edible oil, given the steep price rise witnessed in the last three years.

 

According to edible oil traders, while holding talks with the Government on the situation that arose out of the price rise of edible oil, the traders have suggested the creation of buffer stocks in line with the buffer for food grains.

 

Shankar Thakkar, president of the All India Edible Oil Traders’ Association, has stated that creation of buffer stock was suggested to the Government to ease out the pressure put on domestic edible oil prices due to international causes like the Russia–Ukraine war or bad weather impacting the oil seed production.  

 

The edible oil traders say that the measures taken by the government to increase domestic production would take time to yield results and therefore to stabilise the prices, buffer stock was needed.  

 

Thakkar has said that to arrest the price rise, the Government can take immediate steps like asking the importers to sell edible oil on purchase price.

 

India imports 80% sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia and both countries are now engaged in a military action. The supplies will be hit till the situation gets normal.

 

The prices of sunflower oil have already witnessed a steep rise ranging from 35-40%, soybean 30-35%, while palm oil has witnessed a rise of close to 25% in the recent past. The retail prices of these oils are also hovering between Rs 150 and 200 per litre.

 

The traders also reiterated their demand for removing the stock limit on edible oil to ease out the oil trade.

Private equity investments in agri-tech space have skyrocketed in last 4 years, growing at more than 50 per cent per annum to aggregate approximately Rs 6,600 crore, a report by Bain & Company showed.

 

Titled 'Innovation in India’s rural economy: Disruptive business models are stimulating inclusive growth in agriculture and rural finance', the report has been prepared by Bain & Company and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

 

It said that rural economy contributed nearly half of India’s overall gross domestic gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019–2020.

 

'Two-thirds of the population participated in rural economy in the past two years, and agriculture—the largest sub-sector within rural economy, had the highest share of output, contributing approximately 37 per cent of the total rural GDP,' the report noted.

 

Agriculture sector has been growing steadily at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11 per cent since 2015, supported by government and private sector initiatives towards improvements in its physical and digital infrastructure.

 

It has also witnessed highest disruption in terms of smartphone and internet penetration. This ecosystem is now at an inflection point, and companies that address inefficiencies across the value chain will have explosive growth potential, the report said.

 

Parijat Jain, partner and leader of Bain’s Agribusiness practice in India said: 'Disruption in India’s food and agriculture will evolve from traditional agriculture to new farming models, advanced agri-tech services, and new food products. In the last six years, several start-ups have emerged to reduce systemic inefficiencies among inputs and marketplaces, precision farming, processing and storage.'

 

The report further explained that over the past decade, India’s rural ecosystem has evolved significantly with multiple enablers priming this space for future growth. These trends have created an environment ripe for innovation—allowing start-ups and traditional players to introduce disruptive business models that address inefficiencies particularly in India’s agriculture and finance sectors.

 

UPI transactions double

 

According to Bain-CII estimates, about 30% of the rural ecosystem is adopting digital payment and digital commerce solutions to avail easier access to agri-financial services.

United Payments Interface (UPI) transactions have doubled in the past year, processing eight times more transaction value than credit cards.

 

The report said that even while cash remains the dominant method of payment for rural financing, accounting for roughly 90 per cent of all payments, digital payments penetration is increasing, driven by government interventions like the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund.

Digital-first banking models and lowering of operational costs (which enabled lenders to service lower-value loans) also helped lending organisations scale into the sector, it added.

Growth in rural microfinance sector

 

In the past 18 months, rural microfinance sector has grown significantly. From a gross loan portfolio of about Rs 1,22,500 crore in December 2019, it has risen to Rs 1,46,700 crore in March 2021.

 

'There has been a significant increase in access to credit in the rural ecosystem too. Agri credit has grown at 10 per cent CAGR in the last five years, reaching nearly Rs 14 lakh crore in 2019–20,' the report said.

 

About 35 per cent of agri-credit business comes from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, it added.

India’s merchandise export in February 2022 was USD 33.81 billion, an increase of 22.36% over USD 27.63 billion in February 2021 and an increase of 21.88% over USD 27.74 billion in February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise export in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 374.05 billion, an increase of 45.80% over USD 256.55 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 28.16% over USD 291.87 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise import in February 2022 was USD 55.01 billion, an increase of 34.99% over USD 40.75 billion in February 2021 and an increase of 45.12% over USD 37.90 billion in February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise import in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 550.12 billion, an increase of 59.21% over USD 345.54 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 24.11% over USD 443.24 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum exports in February 2022 was 29.70 USD billion, registering a positive growth of 18.04% over non-petroleum exports of USD 25.16 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 22.23% over non-petroleum exports of USD 24.30 billion in February 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum imports was USD 39.96 billion in February 2022 with a positive growth of 26.0% over non-petroleum imports of USD 31.72 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 47.33% over non-petroleum imports of USD 27.12 billion in February 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum exports in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 319.09 billion, an increase of 36.16% over USD 234.36 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 26.07% over USD 253.10 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum imports in April 2021-Feb 2022 was USD 408.63 billion, showing an increase of 49.61% compared to non-oil imports of USD 273.12 billion in April 2020-Feb 2021 and an increase of 26.61% compared to non-oil imports of USD 322.74 billion in April 2019-Feb 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in February 2022 was USD 26.60 billion, registering a positive growth of 18.31% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 22.48 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 24.98% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 21.28 billion in February 2020.

 

Value of non-oil, non-GJ (gold, silver & Precious metals) imports was USD 31.61 billion in February 2022 with a positive growth of 31.66% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 24.01 billion in Feb 2021 and a positive growth of 42.31% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 22.21 billion in Feb 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 283.83 billion, an increase of 33.92% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 211.95 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 29.47% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 219.22 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

Non-oil, non-GJ (Gold, Silver & Precious Metals) imports was USD 332.85 billion in April 2021-February 2022, recording a positive growth of 44.78%, as compared to non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 229.89 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and a positive growth of 22.35% over USD 272.05 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

The United States has said it will lead efforts to craft a trade arrangement in the Indo-Pacific region that would include provisions on high-standard labour commitments, environmental sustainability, cooperation in the digital economy, and sustainable food systems.

 

In its trade policy agenda for 2022, the US Trade Representative said that the specific content of the trade arrangement will be developed through extensive consultation with trading partners, a broad base of stakeholders, and the Congress.

 

Referring to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the USTR said: 'We will use this framework to address a range of important areas of economic cooperation, including: fair and resilient trade (including labour, digital and other elements); supply chain resilience; infrastructure, decarbonization, and clean energy; and, tax and anti-corruption'.

 

The US had last year indicated that it is not in favour of inking new trade agreements. 'USTR will lead efforts to craft a trade arrangement with parties that includes provisions on: high-standard labour commitments, environmental sustainability, cooperation in the digital economy, sustainable food systems and science-based agricultural regulation, transparency and good regulatory practices; competition policy and trade facilitation,' it said.

 

Last year at the India-US Trade Policy Forum, New Delhi agreed to allow imports of American pork and pork products.

 

'In 2022, USTR will continue to work with India to finalise market access for cherries and alfalfa hay,' it said.\

 

On the issue of Digital Services Tax (DST), the USTR said that it is prepared to examine all options if other countries move forward with new taxes.

 

India introduced a digital service tax called equalisation levy in 2016 on online advertisements whose scope was then widened to impose a 2% tax on non-resident e-commerce firms with a turnover of Rs 2 crore.

 

Last year, the US reached agreements with India, Turkey, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK suspending the application of DSTs during the interim period prior to full implementation of Pillar 1 of the OECD framework.

The central government is committed to doubling the income of farmers and is working on making agriculture more profitable as well as more sustainable, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

 

New Delhi: The central government is committed to doubling the income of farmers and is working on making agriculture more profitable as well as more sustainable, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

 

In an interview, the PM also said his administration identified four pillars to make the lives of farmers better: lowering input cost, increasing the sources of income, better market prices and more use of scientific methods in agriculture.

 

'Both parampara (legacy) and pragati (progress) will be used to support our farmers,' Modi said.

 

During his first term, Modi first pledged to double the income of farmers by the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. Since then, his government has repeatedly stressed on its commitment towards agriculture, showcasing schemes such as PM-KISAN, under which cultivators are paid ?6,000 a year.

 

Modi also touched on the surprise repeal of three controversial farm laws, which sparked a yearlong protest by cultivator groups from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The government and many experts said the reforms were long overdue and would help the cause of farmers. However, farmers believed that the laws would increase their dependance on the private sector.

 

'As far as the impediment in the form repeal of the agricultural laws is concerned, I would say that the path may be different. But our goal is the welfare of the farmers,' the PM said.

 

Modi said the government was promoting traditional farming techniques, organic farming, zero budget farming and natural farming. He also stressed on technology, mentioning the Kisan Drone initiative, which can help in crop evaluation, digitisation of land records and spraying of pesticides and nutrients.

 

'The bright future of India’s agriculture is also linked to the export of more and more agricultural products. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, agricultural exports are at a record level this year… this shows that the government’s efforts are paying off,' he said.

 

Agriculture has also been one sector immune to the pandemic, growing by 3.6% last year (2020-21) and estimated to expand by 3.9% in the ongoing financial year.

 

The PM said the government focused on an all-round strategy to increase the income of farmers. 'For the first time, we have decided to keep the minimum support price (MSP) at 150% of the cost of the farmers. Apart from this, several facilities related to animal husbandry, fisheries as well as beekeeping and horticulture have been added…today, foodgrains are being purchased from farmers by twice the number of government procurement centres in the country compared to before 2016,' he said.

 

The PM said there was an 'unprecedented difference' in agricultural procurement between the previous government and his administration. 'In our time, there has been an increase of 78% in the purchase of paddy. We have broken all the previous records not only in the purchase of paddy, but also in that of wheat. Similarly, compare the last five years of the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] regime and the last five years of our government. The MSP payment in pulses has increased by 88 times,' he added.

In line with the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to make India a global hub for manufacturing, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organizing a Post Budget Webinar on 'Make in India for the World' on Thursday, the 3rd of March 2022.

 

The Union Budget 2022 has laid down a roadmap for India@100 with manufacturing as one of the key drivers of growth and employment generation. The webinar will include discussions on a paradigm shift in manufacturing in India, realising the trillion-dollar goal in Exports and also on MSMEs as a growth engine for the economy.

 

Carrying forward the themes of the Union Budget 2022, with focus on EoDB 2.0, implementation of all-inclusive technology led industrial development, skilling and employment, among other things, the Webinar will be addressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, and will see participation by the Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry, senior officials of Central and State Governments, and senior Industry leaders.

 

The objective of the webinar is to sustain momentum of Union Budget 2022 by synergizing efforts with all stakeholders on various initiatives taken for boosting manufacturing, increasing exports and strengthening the MSMEs. By leveraging stakeholders’ expertise and experience, an Action Plan for the Industry’s way forward and monitoring framework for effective implementation of growth reforms in areas of manufacturing, exports and MSMEs will be finalised.

 

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will deliver a special address to all participants on the vision of ‘Make in India for the World,’ its convergence with Union Budget 2022 and the expectations from the Webinar. Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal will be delivering the concluding remarks for the event.

 

Following the opening session, the participants will break out into three consecutive sessions covering (i) Paradigm shift in manufacturing in India @ 100, (ii) Charting out the strategy for Realizing India’s Trillion Dollar Goal in Exports and (iii) Exploring how the MSMEs will act as the Growth Engine for Indian Economy.

 

DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry will be leading the session on 'Paradigm Shift in Manufacturing in India @ 100' to deliberate on the growth strategy for Industry 4.0, Auto and Auto Components, Telecom, Steel, Pharma & Medical Devices, Textiles and Drones. Sh Baba Kalyani, Chairman and MD, Bharat Forge will be the moderator for the session. This session will conclude with remarks from Secretaries in M/o Heavy Industries, D/o Telecommunications, D/o Pharmaceuticals and M/o Steel, followed by remarks from Industry Principal Secretaries of the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

 

The second session on 'Realizing India’s Trillion Dollar Goal in Export' will be led by Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This session will focus on ways to realise India’s larger goal of achieving the Trillion Dollar mark for exports and will cover focus sectors of Electronics, Agriculture & Food Processing, Textiles, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics. The session moderator is Shri Vir S Advani, VC & MD, Blue Star Ltd. This session will conclude with remarks from concerned Secretaries in D/o Commerce, M/o Electronics and Information Technology and M/o Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, followed by remarks from Iindustry Principal Secretaries of the States of Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka

 

The third session led by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, is titled 'MSMEs as the Growth Engine for Indian Economy'. MSME is the backbone for realizing the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative. For this session, the focus sectors that have been identified are Furniture, Leather & Footwear, Gems & Jewelry, Textiles, Food Processing. The session moderator is Shri Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum. This session will conclude with remarks from concerned Secretaries in M/o Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, M/o Food Processing Industries and M/o Textiles. Industries Principal Secretaries of States of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu will deliver remarks in the session.

 

The closing session will witness the Presentation of Action Plans by the three senior Industry leaders, i.e, the Session Moderators, on the outcomes and the way forward.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) has clarified that the coverage on export transactions to Russia has not been withdrawn. It has been mentioned in various media reports that ECGC has withdrawn its cover on the export transactions to Russia vide its circular dated 25.02.2022; this is factually incorrect.

 

In view of the prevailing situation, ECGC carried out a review of the country risk rating of Russia as per its extant underwriting policy. Accordingly, with effect from 25.02.2022, the cover category of Russia has been modified from Open Cover to Restricted Cover Category – I (RCC-I) for which revolving limits (normally valid for a year) are approved specifically on a case-to-case basis.

 

It is further clarified that this change has been made to ensure that ECGC is able to assess and monitor the risks covered under its export credit insurance policies and to place appropriate risk mitigation measures. The above measure will also enable the exporters / banks in India in assessing the export payment realization prospects from buyers and/or banks in Russia.

 

The customers have been suitably advised to contact their servicing branch of ECGC for cover on shipments to Russia.

 

ECGC continues to monitor the situation and further review of the underwriting policy will be undertaken based on future developments.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that with concerted efforts and the best possible use of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, it was possible to lower our logistics cost to 7-8% of GDP, one of the lowest in the world and increase India’s competitive edge in the global market.

 

He was addressing the concluding session of the “Webinar on PM GatiShakti: Creating Synergy for Accelerated Economic Growth”, organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) from New Delhi today. Over 850 participants drawn centre and state government agencies, leading players from the private sector, academics and industry representatives came together to discuss and chart out the strategy for enhancing India’s logistics efficiency during the webinar.

 

Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addressing the inaugural session of the Webinar, Shri Piyush Goyal said that the Webinar would lend ‘???’ (momentum) to the government’s ‘??????’ to demystify PM GatiShakti for all stakeholders and utilize the full power of it with ‘Sabka Prayas’. Referring to Prime Minister’s   holistic vision for GatiShakti, Shri Goyal said that GatiShakti envisioned a ‘nation as whole approach’ to Infrastructure planning. 

 

Shri Goyal lamented that for decades India had been held back by lack of infrastructure development. Infrastructure that got created was built in bits and pieces and there was an utter lack of coordination between the Center, States and Local Bodies which resulted in uneven development with gaps, he added. He said that GatiShakti would help States and central bodies to plan utilities and infrastructure such as ports, electricity, water, internet connectivity, rail, road, common affluent treatment plants, packaging facilities and even skill development centers as per the needs of industrial clusters. He called upon all stakeholders to continually engage with GatiShakti and make the best possible use of its tremendous potential.

 

The Minister opined that fixing mistakes when it comes to infrastructure was very difficult and added that time delays often rendered the projects outdated and irrelevant. He said that the root cause of the problem was the huge difference between macro planning and micro implementation. Due to silos approach in decision-making, the budget was wasted and instead of infrastructure acting as a force multiplier, we often ended up losing value, he said.

 

Shri Goyal said that guided by PM’s mantra of ‘Work for Progress, Wealth for Progress, Plan for progress and Preference for progress’, GatiShakti aspired to increase synergy and coordination between Center and States at every level. PM GatiShakti envisions to accelerate the economy and the nation with 7 engines of progress viz. roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure, he added.

 

Shri Goyal said that GatiShakti would help in building Next Gen infrastructure to improve Ease of Living as well as Ease of Doing Business. This will kickstart the virtuous cycle of private and public investment and will have a multiplier effect, he added.

 

He appreciated the scientists of BISAG-N for their hard work in brining GatiShakti to life and congratulated DPIIT for playing a pivotal role in keeping the Master Plan on track. It may be noted that The National Master Plan portal, developed by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications & Geoinformatics) is a dynamic GIS platform. It is a Digital Master Planning tool with Project Management tools, dynamic dashboards, MIS reports etc. It provides a bird’s eye view of infrastructure development in India.

 

Observing that we must aim to increase infrastructure investment and enable supply side infra financing both by public and private sector, the Minister said that there was a need for workable financial models for projects to prepare smarter concession agreements with least scope of litigations and come up with options for long term and cost-effective agreements to encourage private sector participation in infrastructure projects.

 

Shri Goyal called for multi-stakeholder collaboration across academia, industry and government for data sharing and for upskilling the logistics sector. He also asked for better coordination between various agencies for faster clearances for Land, Environment, Forest etc.

 

Placing the Webinar in the context of the mythological story of ‘Saagar Manthan’, the Minister expressed confidence that the Webinar would ‘churn’ many new ideas which would then be translated into actions soon.

 

Alluding to the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, Shri Piyush Goyal said that at this critical juncture in our history, we all need to collectively think of the ways we can improve further and keep asking ourselves the question- What can I do today for the nation that may benefit generations?

 

Shri Goyal said that PM GatiShakti is a tool, which if used to the maximum possible extent, would make India a super power in the ‘Amrit Kaal’. PM GatiShakti will showcase our true potential and show the world how a confident Aatmanirbhar Bharat is engaging with technology to create a better future for our citizens.

 

Earlier, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address and five sub-groups in breakout sessions discussed various aspects related to implementation of Gati Shakti. Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry led the session on ‘Nation as a whole approach’ to introduce a new vision of integrated planning and synchronized time bound implementation. The second session on ‘Cooperative Federalism and Enhanced Capital Investment for Infrastructure’ was led by Shri Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary for Logistics at DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Shri Giridhar Aramane led a separate session on ‘Enablers of Logistics Efficiency’ focusing on the national expressway master plan along with Sagarmala, Parvatmala as well as the PM GatiShakti multi-modal cargo terminals. Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was lead for the session on ‘Logistics workforce strategy- Enhancing skill and employment opportunities’. The final session was led by Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, was titled ‘ULIP-Revolutionizing Indian Logistics’.