Considering the rise in the warehousing demand in India, the Noida Authority is planning to offer plots in sectors 161 to 166 located along the Expressway for warehousing needs. “Earlier we did not consider ‘warehousing’ in the industrial plots scheme launched by Noida Authority (for Old Noida) in September 2022. But we will, going forward as part of new schemes (of Old Noida),” said Ritu Maheshwari, CEO, Noida Authority, at the recently held Noida Stakeholders Meet. Since large land banks are not available in Old Noida, the New Noida Draft Master Plan proposes to focus on industrial development and is expected to plug the demand gap for warehousing requirements, she added. The draft plan, prepared by the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), proposes to allocate as much as 8,800 hectares, or 41 percent area for industrial use on which warehousing can come up. “I agree that warehousing is needed. While we have not allowed warehousing in the new schemes launched earlier this month, we will try and include it in the forthcoming schemes,” Maheshwari said. The new schemes launched in sectors 162 and 164 are large plots but have been offered for industrial use. “With the recent government notification that warehousing is allowed in industrial facilities and on industrial land, we will try and include it in the forthcoming schemes. Earlier, we planned to include one sector for warehousing but were sceptical whether the response would be good. Post this scheme results we can earmark a few bigger plots for warehousing soon,” she said.

National Highways Logistics Management (NHLM) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of a multimodal logistics park (MMLP) at Jalna in Maharashtra. Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport and Highways minister said, “The construction will serve as a stimulus for the growth of the Marathwada region. The development will serve as the region’s operational dry port linking the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridors with Samruddhi Marg.” The minister also added that Jalna will become the Marathwada region’s automobile hub, and that the infrastructure will encourage export of agricultural products. The state’s current auto hubs are the Pune-Chakan belt which is home to some of the biggest names in the auto sector including Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Motors. The Aurangabad belt is another hub with the likes of Varroc Engineering. “The Centre has authorised the development of 35 multimodal logistics parks (MMLPs) as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana with the aim to centralise freight consolidation and reduce logistics costs from 14 percent of GDP to less than 10 percent at par with international standards, while also connecting all modes of transportation, including roads, rail, water, and air,” said Gadkari. In addition to Jalna, Maharashtra is anticipated to have eight additional multimodal logistics parks in Ratnagiri, Bhiwandi, Akola, Sangli, Jalgaon, Solapur, and Nasik. The land will be made available by the state government.

The National Logistics Policy (NLP), which will help India propel into a top manufacturing and sourcing country globally, has been approved by the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Acknowledging the same, Manu Raj Bhalla, President, Warehousing Association of India (WAI) said, “The policy encompasses all aspects of the supply chain such as transportation infrastructure and technology to provide cost-effective, sustainable, and robust multimodal solutions with real-time visibility to industry stakeholders.” “The policy will complement the PM Gati Shakti National Masterplan, will facilitate investment in warehousing and logistics infrastructure, dovetailing into Make in India alongside the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative,” he added. The vision is to develop a technologically enabled, cost-efficient, resilient, sustainable, and trusted logistics ecosystem for accelerated and inclusive growth. The policy includes a detailed action plan to achieve reduction in logistics cost in India, to be in the top 25 countries in the Logistics Performance Index ranking by 2030, and to create data-driven decision support mechanism for an efficient logistics network. “Several initiatives under the policy, including Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), the Ease of Logistics Services platform, e-handbook on Warehousing, training courses on PM Gati Shakti Masterplan, and logistics on i-Got, were launched along with the NLP. All these initiatives will help facilitate the digital transformation of the Indian logistics and supply chain ecosystem, thus enabling integration with the global value chains in an efficient and cost-effective manner,” said Bhalla.

Rhenus UK has now opened the doors to a new logistics centre near Heathrow Airport, a major investment designed to considerably strengthen its offer across life sciences and healthcare, full vehicle logistics and its air and ocean freight operations, said official release. The new 58,000 square feet handling facility located in Ashford, just four miles from London Heathrow airport will be the new home for the brand-new specialist pharmaceutical, life sciences and healthcare centre. Spencer Davern, UK Managing Director at Rhenus Air & Ocean UK said in a statement, “Our investment in this state-of-the-art facility and in our specialist teams has been designed to meet the future needs of our broad spectrum of customers to ensure the safe and secure handling of …

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the National Logistics Policy. The Policy lays down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, multi-jurisdictional and comprehensive policy framework for the logistics sector. The policy complements the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan. While PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is aimed at integrated infrastructure development, the National Logistics Policy is envisaged to bring efficiency in logistics services, and human resources through streamlining processes, regulatory framework, skill development, mainstreaming logistics in higher education and adoption of suitable technologies. The vision is to develop a technologically enabled, integrated, cost-efficient, resilient, sustainable and trusted logistics ecosystem for accelerated and inclusive growth. The Policy sets targets and includes a detailed action plan to achieve them. The targets are: to reduce cost of logistics in India to be comparable to global benchmarks by 2030, improve the Logistics Performance Index ranking, to be among top 25 countries by 2030, and create data driven decision support mechanism for an efficient logistics ecosystem.

IAG Cargo has become the latest airline to approve the use of Envirotainer’s Releye RLP and RAP ULDs to transport pharma products on flights. The cargo division said that the recently launched containers would be utilised on its Constant Climate cold chain service. John Cheetham, chief commercial officer, IAG Cargo said: “Temperature-controlled air cargo is crucial for getting life-saving medicines from one corner of the world to another. IAG Cargo’s dedicated teams are always looking at ways to enhance our Constant Climate service and so we are delighted to be able to offer our customers Envirotainer’s Releye containers. “Envirotainer, is one of our long-term partners whose solution offers our customers a more effective mechanism to transport pharmaceuticals as well as complete visibility from start to finish.” The containers are monitored through a control tower service as standard. The units use rechargeable batteries, with a single battery charge able to power the system for over 170 hours. They also offer live monitoring for product condition, location, temperature, humidity, battery levels, door openings, if cargo is loaded or not, and the progress of shipments.

Airbus is expanding its outsized air cargo capabilities with a new loading system for the Beluga A300-600ST aircraft for military cargo. The total lifting capacity of the Airbus Defence and Space-developed loading system to move outsized military cargo into the A300-600ST reaches 35 tonnes. Airbus tested the capability of the loading system, which requires no crane for its use and can be relocated to the aircraft’s destination, during a verification exercise with the German armed forces, the system’s first customer. The exercise involved loading a CH53 military medium-lift helicopter into the Beluga. “The demand for outsized air cargo capability is on the rise. Capacity is scarce and, current geopolitical developments, many customers are looking for new, fast, and efficient solutions. This is what we offer with our BelugaST fleet,” said Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive, Airbus Defence and Space. “Our teams have been working on a remarkable solution to facilitate efficient, and autonomous handling to load heavy military cargo onto the aircraft. “Speed, agility and autonomy are crucial elements for our customers when it comes to such operations.”

IndoSpace launched e-bikes in Chakan as part of its sustainability initiatives on Zero Emissions Day. IndoSpace’s next sustainability initiative seeks to provide an actionable solution to emissions arising from commutes at our smart parks. IndoSpace has partnered with Chartered Bike to introduce e-bikes along with charging stations, especially dedicated for its tenants and employees to commute within the industrial park. These e-bikes would offer tenants, their workforce, and all park visitors a quick, convenient, healthy, and zero-emission commute throughout the park. IndoSpace is constantly upgrading and embracing developments to build smart and green parks that assure efficient operations. The move will support our tenants and their workforce embrace healthy, active, and sustainable transport solutions. The e-bikes will be docked at two key locations—the first one will be at the entrance of the park, while the second one will be at a convenient midway point that will make it easy for the customers to access the service by following a few simple steps.

Mahindra Logistics Limited (MLL) announced the strategic collaborations with 10 innovative technology startups during the CATAPULT Premier Day at Bengaluru. The CATAPULT incubator program is one of the most ambitious technology-based initiative of Mahindra Logistics. Six cohorts of CATAPULT 2.0 have been collaborating with MLL over the past nine months and technology MVPs (pilots) were successfully piloted during this period. MVPs were focused towards developing sustainable solutions and enhancing operational efficiencies in the logistics and mobility space. CATAPULT Cohort 2.0 covered wide technology domains such as Vision tech, Advanced analytics, AI-based optimizer, location-based monitoring tech and sustainable LMD solutions. Six startups part of Cohort 2.0 were Accio Robotics, Linkeddots, Constems—AI, SenseGiz, Jidoka Technologies and Aurita Bikes. During the award ceremony, Strategic Collaboration MoUs were signed with eight startups–HiPer, Enmovil, KoiReader, Accio Robotics, Aurita Bikes, Constem–AI, Linkeddots, and Sensegiz. The technology startups will be integrated as part of MLL’s ‘Smart Automation Program’.

Cathay Pacific has signed an agreement with Aemetis for the supply of 38 million US gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to be delivered over seven years beginning in 2025 from San Francisco International Airport. “The SAF purchased can reduce more than 80,000 tonnes of lifecycle carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the oneworld alliance, of which Cathay Pacific is a founding member,” said an official release. Augustus Tang, Chief Executive Officer said, “Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times. In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10 percent use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain.”