Dossier_February_May... · Web viewTransport Minister Nitin Gadkari said it could push economic...

Coverage DossierMahindra Logistics LimitedJanuary 2017 – April 2017

Prepared by

Summary of Key Activities

Exclusive Media Interactions (RBMs): Mr. Pirojshaw Sarkari with Mr. Anirban Choudhary and Mr. Satish John, The Economic

Times Mr. Pirojshaw Sarkari with Mr. Ashish Agashe, PTI

Standalone Stories: Mahindra Logistics’ plans for IPO - PTI

Industry Story Participation: Industry story on contract logistics – The Hindu Business Line Industry story about new age warehousing and logistics – The Economic Times Industry story on Nagpur as a logistics hub – Bloomberg Industry story about logistics and GST – Business India Magazine Proactively shared budget quote with the media that got carried by several publications

Documentation: Quarter Plan for JFM and AMJ Quarter Drafted FAQs Monthly PR Plan for May-June

S.No Publication / Portal

Headline Pg No.

Date

1 Business Standard

Warehousing industry to see reorganisation 8 24-May-17

2 The Hindu Business Line

Firms see more room for growth 3 23-May-17

3 Financial Chronicle

GST bonanza turns Nagpur into Indias warehouse 2 18-May-17

4 DNA Tax bonanza turns city at zero mile into Indias warehouse 3 18-May-175 Financial

ExpressTax bonanza turns Nagpur into Indias warehouse 1 18-May-17

6 Business India

Moment of Triumph? 41-56

12-May-17

7 The Economic Times

A New Warehouse for India Incs Ambitions 13 10-May-17

8 The Hindu Business Line

Mahindras plan IPO of logistics arm 16 1-May-17

9 Business Standard

Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19 2 1-May-17

10 Hindustan Times

M&M plan IPO, strategic sale of logistics arm in FY19 15 1-May-17

11 The Free Press Journal


12 The Economic Times (Gujarati)

Mahindra Logistics to come out with IPO or do strategic sale in FY19: CEO

3 1-May-17

13 Daily Post Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19 10 1-May-1714 Millennium

PostMahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19 12 1-May-17

15 The Pioneer Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY 2019 11 1-May-1716 The Political

& Business Daily


17 The Times Of India

Mahindras may list or part sell logistics arm 13 1-May-17

Print

Headline : Warehousing industry to see reorganization (Pg 8)

Publication: Business standard

Date : 24-May-17 Journalist: Aditi Divekar

Headline : Firms see more room for growth (Pg 3) Publication: The Hindu Business LineDate : 23-May-17 Journalist: Rahul Wadke

Headline : GST bonanza turns Nagpur into Indias warehouse

Publication: Financial Chronicle

Date : 18-May-17 Journalist / Agency: Reuters

Headline : Tax bonanza turns city at zero mile into Indias warehouse(Pg 3)

Publication: DNA

Date : 18-May-17 Journalist: Jacqueline Thorpe (Bloomberg

Headline : Tax bonanza turns Nagpur into Indias warehouse (Pg 1)

Publication: Financial Express

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist / Agency: Bloomberg

Headline : Moment of Triumph? (Pg 41-56) Publication: Business IndiaDate : May 17, 2017 Journalist: Ritwik Sinha

Headline: A New Warehouse for India Incs Ambitions (Pg 13)

Publication: The Economic Times

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: Anirban Choudhury

Headline : Mahindras plan IPO logistics arm (Pg 16)

Publication: The Hindu Business Line

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist / Agency: PTI

Headline : Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19 (Pg 2)

Publication: Business Standard


Headline : M&M plan IPO, strategic sale of logistics arm in FY19 (Pg 15)

Publication: Hindustan Times



Publication: The Free Press Journal


Headline : Mahindra Logistics to come out with IPO or do strategic sale in FY19: CEO (Pg 3)

Publication: The Economic Times (Gujarati)



Publication: Daily Post



Publication: Millennium Post


Headline : Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY 2019 (Pg 11)

Publication: The Pioneer


Headline : Mahindras may list or part sell logistics arm (Pg 10)

Publication: The Political & Business Daily



Publication: The Times Of India


OnlineNo. Publication/Portal Headline Date

1 HinduBusinessLine.com Logistics firms see more room for growth May 22, 2017

2 Auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Tax bonanza turning city at 'zero mile' into India's warehouse

May 18, 2017

3 LiveMint.com GST rollout may turn Nagpur into India’s warehouse May 17, 2017

4 DeccanChronicle.com This is how GST will make Nagpur a logistics hub of India

May 17, 2017

5 AsianAge.com This is how GST will make Nagpur a logistics hub May 17, 2017

6 NDTV.com Nagpur, Which Is 'Zero Mile', Will Turn Into India's Warehouse

May 17, 2017

7 FinancialExpress.com Nagpur, Which Is 'Zero Mile', Will Turn Into India's Warehouse

May 17, 2017

8 EconomicTimes.com Tax bonanza turning city at 'zero mile' into India's warehouse

May 17, 2017

9 BloombergQuint.com Tax Bonanza Turns City at `Zero Mile' Into India's Warehouse

May 18, 2017

10 Bloomberg.com Tax Bonanza Turns City at India's Dead Center Into Nation's Warehouse

May 17, 2017

11 EconomicTimes.com GST to help drive new-age warehouses for India Inc's ambitions

May 16, 2017

12 Livemint.com Mahindra Logistics to come out with IPO or do strategic sale in FY19: CEO

April 30, 2017

13 DNAIndia.com Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19

April 30, 2017

14 IndiaInfoline.com Union Budget 2017 is extremely positive for logistics sector: Pirojshaw Sarkari, Mahindra Logistics

February 02, 2017

15 TheHinduBusinessLine.com

Jaitley gives big push to multi-modal logistics February 01, 2017

16 OutlookIndia.com Budget gives a big leg-up to infrastructure industry: Experts

February 01, 2017

17 Indiatoday.intoday.in (REOPENS BCM 20) February 01, 2017

18 DNAIndia.com (REOPENS BCM 20) February 02, 2017

19 News18.com Captains of Indian industry Speak on Budget 2017 February 02, 2017

20 domain-b.com Budget is extremely positive for logistics February 01, 2017

Headline : Logistics firms see more room for growth

Domain : The Hindu Business Line

Date : May 22, 2017 Journalist: Rahul Wadke

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/logistics-firms-see-more-room-for-growth/article9709949.ece

Avvashya CCI Logistics plans to invest ₹250 crore in the next three years

Mumbai, May 22:With the Goods and Services Tax regime less than two months away, logistics companies expect further growth, especially in the contract space. Established players in the market are eyeing to take advantage of the new taxation regime by capacity addition to their existing warehouse space as the contract logistics business involves handling goods on behalf of the manufacturer right from the moment it is produced at a factory.

For example, companies manufacturing water bottles hand over the bottles to a contract logistics player, for branding, packaging, warehousing and ultimately final distribution.

It helps the manufacturing companies focus on their core competency of manufacturing. Logistics operations get outsourced, which helps in reducing the logistics costs of the manufacturer.

Currently, manufacturers base their decisions of sourcing and manufacturing on taxes such as VAT, excise duty and service tax.

In the GST regime, due to the fungibility of credits, these decisions would be made from a supply chain perspective.

Market majors such as Avvashya CCI Logistics of the Avvashya Group plan to invest about ₹250 crore in the next three years for warehouse and warehousing automation capabilities. Apollo LogiSolutions, a part of the tyre maker Apollo Group, is also seeing huge opportunities in this space.

CEO of Avvashya CCI Logistics, V Balaji, said that the company has worked out strategies keeping in mind the contract logistics business and therefore, in the last three years, it has been focussing on automation enabled warehouses, which will handle the cargo better.

Today, the company has about 2.6 million sq ft of warehouse space and by 2020, it could grow three to four times. The company has a land bank of about 700 acres, that had been invested earlier keeping in the post-GST opportunities, he said.

For Avvashya CCI, industries such as auto, auto ancillary, chemical, FMCG, e-commerce and fashion garments, is driving the growth.

For some of its manufacturer customers, the company handles everything — right from hauling raw materials to the production lines to the post-production product handling and final delivery to the customers, Balaji said.

Vice-President (Business Development) of Apollo LogiSolutions, Anay Shukla, said that the company is keen to grow in contract logistics space. It currently runs a facility from Mehsana in Gujarat where it procures tyres and wheel rim for different vendors and then provides the finished wheel to Hero MotoCorp. There are many such opportunities waiting to be explored in the market, he said.

CEO of Mahindra Logistics, Pirojshaw Sarkari, said that the biggest change that the GST would bring in the market is the restructuring or reconfiguration of supply chains.

This will have an impact across transportation network design, warehouse consolidation and more optimal inventory and order management.

Therefore, the company is already working with large auto, engineering and consumer companies to help them design, roll out and operate these fundamental shifts in supply chain and logistics systems, he said.



Headline : Tax bonanza turning city at 'zero mile' into India's warehouse

Domain : ETAuto.com

Date : May 18, 2017 Journalist: http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/aftermarket/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/58727077

Nagpur is in the dead center of the country, at the crossroads of busy road and rail corridors that bisect India east to west and north to south. Now, India is on the cusp of a sweeping tax overhaul that could turn the city of 2.4 million people into one of the nation’s biggest logistics hubs.

Known for its oranges, tiger sanctuaries, and 45-degree Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) summer heat, Nagpur has seen a groundswell of investment from retailers and warehouse companies betting that the debut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national goods-and-service tax on July 1 will transform the city’s fortunes.

“The revolution has started,” said Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., one of the nation’s top organic-food producers.

The new tax will replace layers of provincial levies and unify India’s 29 states into a single market. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said it could push economic growth into double digits by eliminating shipping delays across state borders and cutting corruption.

"There will be no need for border controls," Gadkari said in a May 10 interview in his home in New Delhi. "There will be smooth flow of transport from one state to another."

At present, trucks can queue for up to three kilometers to pay an entry fee at New Delhi’s 122 checkpoints. About 75 percent of the country’s road-hauling firms operated fleets of fewer than five trucks, according to a 2014 government report.

While the new GST won’t solve many structural problems of India’s transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd., a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.

That makes Nagpur on the vast Deccan plateau attractive as a central store for goods. Some 800 kilometers from either the Bay of Bengal to the east or the Arabian Sea to the west, and more than 1,000 kilometers from either Delhi to the north, or Chennai to the south, Nagpur has been at the center of the country’s trade routes for centuries.

Nearby coal reserves have long fueled power stations and industries helping make it the country’s 13-largest metropolitan economy. But a tangle of provincial taxes to move goods across states have hampered its role as a centralized base for goods.

“The cost to move goods from port to the Mediterranean and China is cheaper than it is to move goods from here to port,” said Sanjay Sharma, chief executive officer of Nagpur operations for Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Pvt. The former ship captain, 48, who used to steer vessels through the cool waters of Canada’s Great Lakes, now oversees the ramp up of a new logistics park in the sweltering, landlocked city.

The 30-hectare park has just been completed by DLI, a unit of London-listed investment fund Infrastructure India Plc. Surrounded by fields southwest of the city, its large, white, liquid storage tank is blinding in the sun, while rail cars wait in a dedicated siding near a line of trucks, ready to move containers of goods.

The country’s biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd., Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Transport Corp. of India Ltd. are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with U.S.-based Deere & Co.It isn’t just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.

With political clout comes development.

Construction works are busy across Nagpur, including a $1.3 billion metro. A joint venture water project by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd. and Veolia Water SA of France would make Nagpur the first city in India to provide all residents, even slum-dwellers, with a continuous supply of clean water. And the city’s vendors of clothes, spices and famous Nagpur oranges will get a new wholesale market built by Vishvaraj.

“Political will is essential for change,” said Arun Lakhani, chairman of Vishvaraj, sitting in his office as workers lay cable in the street outside. “With the GST and the free movement of goods, the very disadvantage of being at the center will be translated into a real economic advantage.”

The change has been a long time coming for a city that has spent decades in the shadow of Maharashtra state’s premier economic center: Mumbai.

As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation’s top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.

But controversies over land acquisition and delays mean the airport has yet to be expanded, while a recent visit to the rail connection showed only a handful of workers carrying stones in baskets on their heads in the time-honored way.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/aftermarket/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/58727077

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/aftermarket/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/58727077

Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO of Mahindra Logistics, says Mihan needs to be fast-tracked, shipping clearances need to be put under one government department and electricity prices should fall.

And DLI’s Sharma says there are other problems GST won’t fix, including power and rail staff shortages, especially in the summer.

Rail freight remains at the mercy of India’s overcrowded rail network, where a trip from Mumbai to Nagpur can take 72 hours when it should take 18, according to DLI’s Sharma. Freight trains clank around the nation’s more than 66,000 kilometers of lines at an average speed of 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph). And despite huge improvements in the past two decades, the government is still spending billions to upgrade the world’s second-biggest road network.

Even with the new tax, trucks may still face delays at state borders due to the need to monitor details of shipments. A system of electronic scanners is supposed to speed up the process, but with the GST deadline looming, Gadkari said the tendering process for the scanners would only be completed "within a month."

For Nagpur, though, the GST is a step in the right direction.

In a warehouse the size of seven football fields run by Mumbai-based supply-chain company Future Group, CEO Kishore Biyani shows businessmen a 2.5-kilometer spiraling conveyor belt that sorts packages of Lee Cooper and other clothing brands into 40,000 cases per day.

“Now you can invest in large scale,” Biyani said. “You don’t need to think small."

Headline : GST rollout may turn Nagpur into India’s warehouse

Domain : http://www.livemint.com/

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: Jacqueline Thorpehttp://www.livemint.com/Politics/jbj13nZ7Bc8cNFd5uYt2lI/GST-rollout-may-turn-Nagpur-into-Indias-warehouse.html

Toronto/Mumbai: The city known as zero mile in India is finally in the right place at the right time.

Nagpur is in the dead centre of the country, at the crossroads of busy road and rail corridors that bisect India east to west and north to south. Now, India is on the cusp of a sweeping tax overhaul that could turn the city of 2.4 million people into one of the nation’s biggest logistics hubs.

Known for its oranges, tiger sanctuaries and 45-degree Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) summer heat, Nagpur has seen a groundswell of investment from retailers and warehouse companies betting that the debut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national goods and services tax (GST) on 1 July will transform the city’s fortunes.

“The revolution has started,” said Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, one of the nation’s top organic-food producers.

The new tax will replace layers of provincial levies and unify India’s 29 states into a single market. Transport minister Nitin Gadkari said it could push economic growth into double digits by eliminating shipping delays across state borders and cutting corruption.

“There will be no need for border controls,” Gadkari said in a 10 May interview in his home in New Delhi. “There will be smooth flow of transport from one state to another.”

At present, trucks can queue for up to three kilometers to pay an entry fee at New Delhi’s 122 checkpoints. About 75% of the country’s road-hauling firms operated fleets of fewer than five trucks, according to a 2014 government report.

While the new GST won’t solve many structural problems of India’s transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20%, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd., a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.


Nearby coal reserves have long fuelled power stations and industries helping make it the country’s 13-largest metropolitan economy. But a tangle of provincial taxes to move goods across states have hampered its role as a centralized base for goods.



The country’s biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd, Mahindra Logistics Ltd and Transport Corp. of India Ltd are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with US-based Deere & Co.

It isn’t just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.

Construction works are busy across Nagpur, including a $1.3 billion metro. A joint venture water project by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd and Veolia Water SA of France would make Nagpur the first city in India to provide all residents, even slum-dwellers, with a continuous supply of clean water. And the city’s vendors of clothes, spices and famous Nagpur oranges will get a new wholesale market built by Vishvaraj.



http://www.livemint.com/Politics/jbj13nZ7Bc8cNFd5uYt2lI/GST-rollout-may-turn-Nagpur-into-Indias-warehouse.html

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/jbj13nZ7Bc8cNFd5uYt2lI/GST-rollout-may-turn-Nagpur-into-Indias-warehouse.html

As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation’s top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd.

But controversies over land acquisition and delays mean the airport has yet to be expanded, while a recent visit to the rail connection showed only a handful of workers carrying stones in baskets on their heads in the time-honoured way.




Even with the new tax, trucks may still face delays at state borders due to the need to monitor details of shipments. A system of electronic scanners is supposed to speed up the process, but with the GST deadline looming, Gadkari said the tendering process for the scanners would only be completed “within a month.”



“Now you can invest in large scale,” Biyani said. “You don’t need to think small.”

BloombergJacqueline ThorpeP. R. Sanjai

Headline : This is how GST will make Nagpur a logistics hub of India

Domain : http://www.deccanchronicle.com/

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/economy/170517/this-is-how-gst-will-make-nagpur-a-logistics-hub-of-india.html

City of Oranges lies at 'zero mile' that makes transportation of goods easier than from any other place.

Mumbai: Nagpur, the City of Oranges, will soon completely overhaul India's transportation system as country gears up for a nationwide indirect tax regime named as Goods and Services Tax. India has announced it is implementing the 'One Nation One Tax' regime from July 1.

Nagpur that has a population of 2.4 million people stays at crossroads of India's major, busy rail and road highways a central point that equally divides country into east to west and north to south corridors, according to a report in Bloomberg.

The city is also famous for its tiger sanctuaries, vast stretches of forest reserves and a very high summer-time temperature when mercury rises up to 48°C. Of late, Nagpur has witnessed a barrage of investments from retailers and warehouse companies.

The Bloomberg report adds big players in India's shipping industry like Container Corporation of India, Mahindra Logistics, and Transport Corporation of India have already started works for setting up warehouses in Nagpur.

Some foreign major logistics players have also evinced interest in establishing store rooms in the city. The US headquartered Deere & Co is one of the overseas companies that has indicated it will set up a warehouse in Nagpur.

"The revolution has started," the report quoted Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved as saying. Patanjali Ayurveda endorsed by yoga guru Baba Ramdev is country's fastest growing consumer goods company that makes its products based on centuries old medical cure method.

"While the new GST won't solve many structural problems of India's transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil, Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc," the report said.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/economy/170517/this-is-how-gst-will-make-nagpur-a-logistics-hub-of-india.html

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/economy/170517/this-is-how-gst-will-make-nagpur-a-logistics-hub-of-india.html

Headline : This is how GST will make Nagpur a logistics hub

Domain : http://www.asianage.com/

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: http://www.asianage.com/business/economy/170517/this-is-how-gst-will-make-nagpur-a-logistics-hub.html

Mumbai: Nagpur, the City of Oranges, will soon completely overhaul India's transportation system as country gears up for a nationwide indirect tax regime named as Goods and Services Tax. India has announced it is implementing the 'One Nation One Tax' regime from July 1.

Nagpur that has a population of 2.4 million people stays at crossroads of India's major, busy rail and road highways a central point that equally divides country into east to west and north to south corridors, according to a report in Bloomberg.

The city is also famous for its tiger sanctuaries, vast stretches of forest reserves and a very high summer-time temperature when mercury rises up to 48°C. Of late, Nagpur has witnessed a barrage of investments from retailers and warehouse companies.

The Bloomberg report adds big players in India's shipping industry like Container Corporation of India, Mahindra Logistics, and Transport Corporation of India have already started works for setting up warehouses in Nagpur.

Some foreign major logistics players have also evinced interest in establishing store rooms in the city. The US headquartered Deere & Co is one of the overseas companies that has indicated it will set up a warehouse in Nagpur.

"The revolution has started," the report quoted Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved as saying. Patanjali Ayurveda endorsed by yoga guru Baba Ramdev is country's fastest growing consumer goods company that makes its products based on centuries old medical cure method.

"While the new GST won't solve many structural problems of India's transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil, Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc," the report said.

http://www.asianage.com/business/economy/170517/this-is-how-gst-will-make-nagpur-a-logistics-hub.html

Headline : Nagpur, Which Is 'Zero Mile', Will Turn Into India's Warehouse

Domain : NDTV.com

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nagpur-which-is-zero-mile-will-turn-into-indias-warehouse-1694559

The city known as zero mile in India is finally in the right place at the right time.

Nagpur is in the dead center of the country, at the crossroads of busy road and rail corridors that bisect India east to west and north to south. Now, India is on the cusp of a sweeping tax overhaul that could turn the city of 2.4 million people into one of the nation's biggest logistics hubs.

Known for its oranges, tiger sanctuaries, and 45-degree Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) summer heat, Nagpur has seen a groundswell of investment from retailers and warehouse companies betting that the debut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national goods-and-service tax on July 1 will transform the city's fortunes.

"The revolution has started," said Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., one of the nation's top organic-food producers.

The new tax will replace layers of provincial levies and unify India's 29 states into a single market. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said it could push economic growth into double digits by eliminating shipping delays across state borders and cutting corruption.


At present, trucks can queue for up to three kilometers to pay an entry fee at New Delhi's 122 checkpoints. About 75 percent of the country's road-hauling firms operated fleets of fewer than five trucks, according to a 2014 government report.

While the new GST won't solve many structural problems of India's transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd., a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.

That makes Nagpur on the vast Deccan plateau attractive as a central store for goods. Some 800 kilometers from either the Bay of Bengal to the east or the Arabian Sea to the west, and more than 1,000 kilometers from either Delhi to the north, or Chennai to the south, Nagpur has been at the center of the country's trade routes for centuries.

Nearby coal reserves have long fueled power stations and industries helping make it the country's 13-largest metropolitan economy. But a tangle of provincial taxes to move goods across states have hampered its role as a centralized base for goods.

"The cost to move goods from port to the Mediterranean and China is cheaper than it is to move goods from here to port," said Sanjay Sharma, chief executive officer of Nagpur operations for Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Pvt. The former ship captain, 48, who used to steer vessels through the cool waters of Canada's Great Lakes, now oversees the ramp up of a new logistics park in the sweltering, landlocked city.


The country's biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd., Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Transport Corp. of India Ltd. are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with U.S.-based Deere & Co.It isn't just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.


Construction works are busy across Nagpur, including a $1.3 billion metro. A joint venture water project by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd. and Veolia Water SA of France would make Nagpur the first city in India to provide all residents, even slum-dwellers, with a continuous supply of clean water. And the city's vendors of clothes, spices and famous Nagpur oranges will get a new wholesale market built by Vishvaraj.

"Political will is essential for change," said Arun Lakhani, chairman of Vishvaraj, sitting in his office as workers lay cable in the street outside. "With the GST and the free movement of goods, the very disadvantage of being at the center will be translated into a real economic advantage."

The change has been a long time coming for a city that has spent decades in the shadow of Maharashtra state's premier economic center: Mumbai.

As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation's top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.But controversies over land acquisition and delays mean the airport has yet to be expanded, while a recent visit to the rail connection showed only a handful of workers carrying stones in baskets on their heads in the time-honored way.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nagpur-which-is-zero-mile-will-turn-into-indias-warehouse-1694559


And DLI's Sharma says there are other problems GST won't fix, including power and rail staff shortages, especially in the summer.

Rail freight remains at the mercy of India's overcrowded rail network, where a trip from Mumbai to Nagpur can take 72 hours when it should take 18, according to DLI's Sharma. Freight trains clank around the nation's more than 66,000 kilometers of lines at an average speed of 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph). And despite huge improvements in the past two decades, the government is still spending billions to upgrade the world's second-biggest road network.




"Now you can invest in large scale," Biyani said. "You don't need to think small."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Headline : Nagpur, Which Is 'Zero Mile', Will Turn Into India's Warehouse

Domain : NDTV.com

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nagpur-which-is-zero-mile-will-turn-into-indias-warehouse-1694559


Nagpur is in the dead center of the country, at the crossroads of busy road and rail corridors that bisect India east to west and north to south. Now, India is on the cusp of a sweeping tax overhaul that could turn the city of 2.4 million people into one of the nation's biggest logistics hubs.

Known for its oranges, tiger sanctuaries, and 45-degree Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) summer heat, Nagpur has seen a groundswell of investment from retailers and warehouse companies betting that the debut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national goods-and-service tax on July 1 will transform the city's fortunes.

"The revolution has started," said Manoj Muti, a supervisor at a warehouse in the city that stores goods of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., one of the nation's top organic-food producers.

The new tax will replace layers of provincial levies and unify India's 29 states into a single market. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said it could push economic growth into double digits by eliminating shipping delays across state borders and cutting corruption.


At present, trucks can queue for up to three kilometers to pay an entry fee at New Delhi's 122 checkpoints. About 75 percent of the country's road-hauling firms operated fleets of fewer than five trucks, according to a 2014 government report.

While the new GST won't solve many structural problems of India's transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd., a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.

That makes Nagpur on the vast Deccan plateau attractive as a central store for goods. Some 800 kilometers from either the Bay of Bengal to the east or the Arabian Sea to the west, and more than 1,000 kilometers from either Delhi to the north, or Chennai to the south, Nagpur has been at the center of the country's trade routes for centuries.

Nearby coal reserves have long fueled power stations and industries helping make it the country's 13-largest metropolitan economy. But a tangle of provincial taxes to move goods across states have hampered its role as a centralized base for goods.

"The cost to move goods from port to the Mediterranean and China is cheaper than it is to move goods from here to port," said Sanjay Sharma, chief executive officer of Nagpur operations for Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Pvt. The former ship captain, 48, who used to steer vessels through the cool waters of Canada's Great Lakes, now oversees the ramp up of a new logistics park in the sweltering, landlocked city.


The country's biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd., Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Transport Corp. of India Ltd. are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with U.S.-based Deere & Co.It isn't just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.


Construction works are busy across Nagpur, including a $1.3 billion metro. A joint venture water project by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd. and Veolia Water SA of France would make Nagpur the first city in India to provide all residents, even slum-dwellers, with a continuous supply of clean water. And the city's vendors of clothes, spices and famous Nagpur oranges will get a new wholesale market built by Vishvaraj.

"Political will is essential for change," said Arun Lakhani, chairman of Vishvaraj, sitting in his office as workers lay cable in the street outside. "With the GST and the free movement of goods, the very disadvantage of being at the center will be translated into a real economic advantage."

The change has been a long time coming for a city that has spent decades in the shadow of Maharashtra state's premier economic center: Mumbai.

As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation's top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.


http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nagpur-which-is-zero-mile-will-turn-into-indias-warehouse-1694559


And DLI's Sharma says there are other problems GST won't fix, including power and rail staff shortages, especially in the summer.

Rail freight remains at the mercy of India's overcrowded rail network, where a trip from Mumbai to Nagpur can take 72 hours when it should take 18, according to DLI's Sharma. Freight trains clank around the nation's more than 66,000 kilometers of lines at an average speed of 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph). And despite huge improvements in the past two decades, the government is still spending billions to upgrade the world's second-biggest road network.




"Now you can invest in large scale," Biyani said. "You don't need to think small."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Headline : Tax bonanza turning city at 'zero mile' into India's warehouse

Domain : The Economic Times

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/articleshow/58709799.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst







While the new GST won’t solve many structural problems of India’s transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd.BSE -0.71 %, a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.





The country’s biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd., Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Transport Corp. of India Ltd. are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with U.S.-based Deere & Co.It isn’t just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/articleshow/58709799.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-indias-warehouse/articleshow/58709799.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst





As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation’s top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services LtdBSE 1.48 %. and InfosysBSE -0.40 % Ltd.






Headline : Tax Bonanza Turns City at `Zero Mile' Into India's Warehouse

Domain : Bloomberg Quint

Date : May 18, 2017 Journalist: Jacqueline Thorpehttps://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/2017/05/16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse








Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages about $218 billion, has said it will invest about $500 million in a joint venture with Mumbai-based IndoSpace Industrial & Logistics Parks to acquire logistics facilities in India. While the focus is on bigger centers such as Chennai and Pune, the company would consider cities including Nagpur in the future, Andrea Orlandi, head of real estate for Europe at Canada Pension, said by email.

It isn’t just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.



https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/2017/05/16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse

https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/2017/05/16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse

Headline : Tax Bonanza Turns City at India's Dead Center Into Nation's Warehouse

Domain : Bloomberg.com

Date : May 17, 2017 Journalist: Jacqueline Thorpehttps://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse

Nagpur set to benefit as Modi’s new GST replaces border levies

Tax may ease transport of goods, making city a logistics hub







Click here for more on India’s biggest tax overhaul since independence


While the new GST won’t solve many structural problems of India’s transport network, it could trim logistics costs of companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20 percent, according to an estimate by Crisil Ltd., a Mumbai-based unit of S&P Global Inc.





The country’s biggest shipping companies including Container Corp. of India Ltd., Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Transport Corp. of India Ltd. are all setting up facilities in Nagpur, along with U.S.-based Deere & Co.Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages about $218 billion, has said it will invest about $500 million in a joint venture with Mumbai-based IndoSpace Industrial & Logistics Parks to acquire logistics facilities in India. While the focus is on bigger centers such as Chennai and Pune, the company would consider cities including Nagpur in the future, Andrea Orlandi, head of real estate for Europe at Canada Pension, said by email.

It isn’t just an accident of geography that puts the city in a sweet spot. Nagpur is home to Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Transport Minister Gadkari, who was elected from Nagpur, has said he is a member of the RSS, while Modi once worked for the organization, whose 57,000 branches across India provided grassroots support for his election.



https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-16/tax-bonanza-turning-city-at-zero-mile-into-india-s-warehouse



As early as 2002, the state conceived a special economic zone around a new airport, called the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur. Known as Mihan, it has already drawn some of the nation’s top technology firms, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.





Even with the new tax, trucks may still face delays at state borders due to the need to monitor details of shipments. A system of electronic scanners is supposed to speed up the process, but with the GST deadline looming, Gadkari said the tendering process would only be completed "within a month."For Nagpur, though, the GST is a step in the right direction.



Headline : GST to help drive new-age warehouses for India Inc's ambitions

Domain : The Economic Times

Date : May 16, 2017 Journalist: Anirban Chowdhuryhttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/shipping-/-transport/gst-to-help-drive-new-age-warehouses-for-india-incs-ambitions/articleshow/58605148.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

MUMBAI: New-age warehousing and logistics in India would be midwifed by the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which also aims to transform the South Asian nation into an integrated market for the first time since Independence.

Small and often ill-equipped storage space in the country would now give way to neatly stacked, air conditioned warehouses, with higher levels of automation, as India ushers in the biggest tax reforms since 1947. And driving the change in India’s supply chain landscape are the consumer goods companies, such as Hindustan UnileverBSE 1.76 %, Glaxo Smithkine, and Johnson & Johnson.

These companies are now putting out tenders for consolidating their supply chain operations into bigger warehouses. The new facilities will now cover about 450,000-500,000 square feet of space, almost five times the biggest warehouses in India right now. Logistics majors such as DHL, Allcargo and Mahindra Logistics are leasing bigger logistics spaces, while real estate developers such as Everstone Group’s IndoSpace are investing billions in building bigger storage facilities.

Big Investments, Bigger Facilities

The Indian supply chain arm of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, the world’s largest logistics company, is investing EUR150 million in more than doubling its warehousing space in the country to 7 million square feet. IndoSpace, India’s top builder of such facilities, is investing $1 billion to set up 30 million square feet of warehousing space in the country. IndoSpace is a venture of the Everstone Group and Realterm Global. Mahindra Logistics is leasing 1 million square feet of warehousing space: Avvashya CCI Logistics, the joint venture of the group that owns Allcargo with CCI Logistics, is almost doubling warehousing space to 5.5 million square feet in the next few years.

"There is a major spell of consolidation in the warehousing segment right now,” Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO of Mahindra Logistics told ET in a recent interview.

"Historically, all warehousing was based on tax laws. That meant that in nearly every state, a company needed to have a warehouse, which was more of a godown. Otherwise it would have to pay central sales tax and state sales tax. Post GST, with a uniform tax structure, large-format modern warehousing will come up in a big way. And they will be closer to consumption centres," he added.

The historic tax overhaul announced by the Narendra Modi government last year seeks to replace at least seven indirect tax heads including countervailing duty, special additional duty of customs, excise

duty, service tax, central sales tax, value added tax, octroi and state cesses with one tax on goods and services.

One Nation, One Tax

Under the new tax regime, a centre and state GST will be levied on a common base of goods and services and an intergrated GST will be levied on inter-state transactions. It seeks to obliterate the multiplicity of taxes, mitigate cascading tax impact, do away with multiple check-posts thus ensuring smoother transportation, make for seamless credits and rationalize the warehousing structure in the country, while improving cargo transportation standards.

FMCG companies are taking the lead on the warehousing side. Mahindra Logistics recently won a bid to manage a 250,000 square feet of warehousing space at Vapi, Gujarat, for Hindustan Unilever, said Sarkari. GSK and Johnson & Johnson have put out tenders to consolidate warehousing functions, he added.

A spokesperson of Hindustan Unilever said it had "no specific comment to offer". Emails sent to GSK and Johnson & Johnson remained unanswered when the report was sent for publication.

"The consolidation will incentivize the holding of inventory at select locations," said V Balaji, CEO contract logistics at Avvashya CCI Logistics. The exercise will potentially lead to a 15%-18% savings in logistics costs for a company, he said.

Balaji said FMCG companies currently have more than 60 warehousing facilities scattered across the country. Those will be clubbed to 12-16. Avvashya CCI currently has 23 warehouses in the country. That number will remain the same even though the space will increase two-fold.

Beyond Consumer Goods

Companies from other sectors are getting into it too. Vodafone, for instance, clubbed its entire warehousing functions of seven different circles in the western region to one mother warehouse in Pune, said Sarkari, whose company got the contract. In Vodafone's case, the scope of the project also included redesigning the warehousing structure, which meant Mahindra and consultant Ernst & Young also had to map a whole new hub and spoke warehouse network, he added. Vodafone India didn't respond to emailed queries.

Property developers were the earliest to sense the change in trend.

"As a company, we have always focused on a post-GST scenario and generally stuck to building large warehouses up to 500,000 square feet. Recently, we have seen a pick-up in demand for such facilities among our customers. What GST does is remove the punitive nature of the current structure and the

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/shipping-/-transport/gst-to-help-drive-new-age-warehouses-for-india-incs-ambitions/articleshow/58605148.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst



biggest benefit will be in terms of reduced operating costs,” said Brian Oravec, CEO IndoSpace, which has 24 logistics parks across the country.

More companies in the automotive space are now looking at setting up stockyards to stack up vehicles instead of transporting them straight to the dealerships from manufacturing centres. The shift will lead to higher standards in automation with some investments towards robotics.

Supply Chain Automation

Mahindra Logistics, for instance, is looking at alliances with robotics companies for its bigger warehouses, said Sarkari.

Frank Appel, the global CEO of DPDHL, said in a recent interview that the company would in the future carry out some pilot projects in India in the robotics space. He did, however, point out that cheap labour costs in India make it more feasible to invest in manpower here.

DHL is already doing paperless picking and sorting at some of its facilities.

"Right now, our warehousing presence is primarily in and around metro cities. The next phase is going to state capitals such as Lucknow and Jaipur," said Vikas Anand, managing director, DHL Supply Chain, India.

Avvashya CCI Logistics is planning to spend Rs 250 crore-Rs 300 crore in upgrading the automation processes at its facilities, said Balaji.

Facility usage patterns may also change after GST is introduced.

DHL's facility in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, is a multi-client site catering to companies in the automotive, retail, and FMCG sectors.

To be sure, a large patch of uncertainty over the new regime has led some companies to adopt the wait-and-watch stance. These include multiple state-wise registrations as opposed to a single centralised registration currently, manifold increase in paperwork (a total of 37 tax returns need to be filed for every state annually), stringent conditions for claiming credit, and complexities in billing.

"We still await full clarity on how GST will work out for logistics firms," said Suresh Bansal, head of international business at DTDC Express Ltd. "We of course appointed firms such as KPMG and Ernst & Young to get us to be GST-ready. But it will be very complex for many companies," he added.

A spokesperson at Amazon India, which is heavily investing in building its own supply chain network, said the company "will wait to see the fine print for GST implementation, particularly on movement-related documentation," to assess any potential impact on its network.

"The key question here is also whether the freight via road transport will actually move faster, which is also what GST seeks to achieve. There is less clarity on that yet. It will be at least 12-18 months before companies across sectors completely come on board the new regime," said Anand of DHL.

Headline : Mahindra Logistics to come out with IPO or do strategic sale in FY19: CEO

Domain : http://www.livemint.com/

Date : April 30, 2017 Journalist: PTIhttp://www.livemint.com/Money/ZzY2cNf3qYDswscLZOLfjO/Mahindra-Logistics-to-come-out-with-IPO-or-do-strategic-sale.html

PTIMumbai: The diversified Mahindra Group may either list or part sell its logistics arm next fiscal to a foreign partner, a top official has said.

While not disclosing the amount, which can be raised through a stake sale or the share of ownership it is willing to sell to a foreign partner, he said the company is not willing to give up on its brand identity. He said the company, which got incorporated as a separate entity in 2008 after eight years of working as an in-house department, will close FY2016-17 with revenues of Rs2,600 crore and a pre-tax profit of Rs100 crore.

While the milestones on revenues and profits have been achieved, the one on composition of the revenue is yet to be met, Sarkari said, adding the non-Mahindra group revenues need to constitute half of the pie before any transaction.

Last fiscal, 55% of the revenues came from the group and Sarkari exuded that its work across the logistics space as a third party player in the market will ensure the 50% level is achieved in FY2017-18 despite a growth it expects in the work done for Mahindras.

Sarkari said the Mahindra group operates in a federal way where company boards are given all the independence to chart their own course, and added that keeping the aim of listing or the strategic sale in mind, it decided to sell 23% to private equity fund Kedaara Capital in 2014.

He said the deal was driven by the need to get the processes right and vision for the future, and not so much by the money which Kedaara invested.

Sarkari said the company follows an asset light model where it works with long term contracts with warehouse owners and truckers, which will draw investor interest. He said bankers have been approaching the company repeatedly for a stake sale, and also after many episodes of a rise in markets as being witnessed now.

When told that many of the international majors, including DHL and UBS, are already present in the country, he said many others from Europe and China are waiting to enter the market. Implementation of the goods and services tax, the biggest indirect tax reform, later this fiscal will up their interest manifold, he said.

The company has been making significant investments in the technology space and has committed $2 million in the last four years alone, he said. It is adding another 1 million square feet of warehouse space to take the total to 8 million square feet, he said, adding that it works with 300 trucking partners.PTI

http://www.livemint.com/Money/ZzY2cNf3qYDswscLZOLfjO/Mahindra-Logistics-to-come-out-with-IPO-or-do-strategic-sale.html

http://www.livemint.com/Money/ZzY2cNf3qYDswscLZOLfjO/Mahindra-Logistics-to-come-out-with-IPO-or-do-strategic-sale.html

Headline : Mahindras plan IPO or strategic sale in logistics arm in FY19

Domain : dna

Date : April 30, 2017 Journalist: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-mahindras-plan-ipo-or-strategic-sale-in-logistics-arm-in-fy19-2423014

The diversified Mahindra Group may either list or part sell its logistics arm next fiscal to a foreign partner, a top official has said.

"There are certain milestones which will be achieved in 2017-18 and in the next fiscal, we will either come out with an IPO or do a strategic alliance which may involve partnership with an overseas player," Mahindra Logistics' chief executive Pirojshaw Sarkari told(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Headline : Union Budget 2017 is extremely positive for logistics sector: Pirojshaw Sarkari, Mahindra Logistics

Domain : India Infoline

Date : February 02, 2017 Journalist: http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-union-budget/union-budget-2017-is-extremely-positive-for-logistics-sector-pirojshaw-sarkari-mahindra-logistics-117020200620_1.html

“The recent budget has been extremely positive for logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector.The construction of PMGSY roads will be accelerated to 133 km per day in 2016-17, against an average of 73 km during 2011-2014. This will ensure expansion of logistics activities to the under penetrated rural areas nationwide.

For transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping - a massive provision of Rs. 2,41,387 crore has been made in 2017-18. Better transportation infrastructure means lower logistics costs thereby making domestic manufacturing activity competitive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

The restructured scheme focused on export infrastructure, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will provide further growth opportunities to the logistics sector.

To promote its flagship ‘Make in India’ scheme, the government has tweaked customs and central excise duty structure. We expect this move to benefit domestic manufacturing activity and lead to enhanced demand for logistics activity to support increased production and supply-chain needs.

The announcement of GST Council finalising its recommendations on almost all issues and timely preparation of IT system needs to be welcomed. In an endeavour to create awareness about the new GST led taxation system, we support the government’s move to reach-out to trade and industry.”

The author, Pirojshaw Sarkari is CEO, Mahindra Logistics.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-mahindras-plan-ipo-or-strategic-sale-in-logistics-arm-in-fy19-2423014

Headline : Jaitley gives big push to multi-modal logistics

Domain : The Hindu Business Line

Date : February 01, 2017 Journalist: Our Bureauhttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/jaitley-gives-big-push-to-multimodal-logistics/article9515469.ece

New Delhi, February 1:

The Finance Minister has stressed on the need to have an effective multi-modal logistics and transport sector, which will make the economy more competitive. “A specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi-modal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented,” Arun Jaitley said.

“For the transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping, the Finance Ministry has proposed ₹2,41,387 crore in 2017-18. This magnitude of investment will spur a huge amount of economic activity across the country and create more job opportunities,” he added.

Railways, on its part, will implement end-to-end integrated transport solutions for select commodities through partnership with logistics players, who would provide both front and back-end connectivity. Rolling stocks and practices will be customised to transport perishable goods, especially agricultural products, Jaitley added.

http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-union-budget/union-budget-2017-is-extremely-positive-for-logistics-sector-pirojshaw-sarkari-mahindra-logistics-117020200620_1.html

http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-union-budget/union-budget-2017-is-extremely-positive-for-logistics-sector-pirojshaw-sarkari-mahindra-logistics-117020200620_1.html

He further said a new Metro Rail Policy will be announced with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing, as well as standardisation and indigenisation of hardware and software. This will open up new job opportunities for our youth, he said. A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalising the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation of the metros.

Referring to the merging of the Railway Budget with the main Budget, the Finance Minister said the move would facilitate multi-modal transport planning between railways, highways and inland waterways. “The functional autonomy of Railways will, however, continue. This will give us a holistic view of allocations for sectors and ministries. This would facilitate optimal allocation of resources,” he said.

Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics, said the construction of PMGSY roads will be accelerated to 133 km per day in 2016-17, against an average of 73 km during 2011-2014. This will ensure expansion of logistics activities to the under-penetrated rural areas nationwide. The restructured scheme focused on export infrastructure namely Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme will provide further growth opportunities to the logistics sector, he added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/jaitley-gives-big-push-to-multimodal-logistics/article9515469.ece

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/jaitley-gives-big-push-to-multimodal-logistics/article9515469.ece

Headline : Budget gives a big leg-up to infrastructure industry: Experts

Domain : http://www.outlookindia.com/

Date : February 01, 2017 Journalist: http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/budget-gives-a-big-legup-to-infrastructure-industry-experts/979309

Mumbai, Feb 1 The infra industry has hailed the added focus the sector has received in the budget, saying the proposals will give a big boost to this key growth driver.

The Budget has allocated Rs 3.96 trillion to infra sector to spur economic activities and create more jobs and has also accorded infrastructure status to affordable housing projects which will give lot of tax incentives to the players.

"The Budget augments the already established mode of using budgetary spend to boost infra segment. Integrated transportation focus, including railways, metros, multi-modal transport, highways, is transformational that can take growth into the next orbit," KPMG India's Manish Aggarwal said.

For the transport sector as a whole, including railways, road, shipping, the Government has made a provision of Rs 2.41 trillion in 2017-18.

"It is also noteworthy that Railways has been given due importance with a total outlay of Rs 1.31 trillion out of which Rs 55,000 crore is committed from the Budget.

"There is clear focus on rail safety with a national rail safety fund with a corpus of Rs 1 trillion for five years and passenger convenience through station redevelopment," said Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India's Vishwas Udgirkar.

For highways, the budget allocation has been stepped up to Rs 64,000 crore from Rs 57,676 crore, he noted.

"In the aviation sector, select airports in tier-II cities have been proposed for development through PPP mode which will complement the regional connectivity plans.

"The Airports Authority of India Act will be amended to enable monetisation of land assets and unlock their value. But ports and shipping, one of the focus areas of the government, is a surprise omission in the Budget," he said.

Centrum Infra Advisory's Sandeep Upadhyay said, "Within the infra sector the focus continues to be on pushing capex in transportation sector with major impetus for the Railways. But the pace of rolling out infra projects including the need of single-window clearance and reforming PPP framework and dispute resolution with contractors are where the authorities really need to focus on."

Essar Ports' Rajiv Agarwal said measures including those in respect of public infra spending, rural spending and tax cuts will help increase consumption and help fasten growth The FM has also accorded infra status to affordable housing segment which is likely to boost the sector.

"The Budget provisions will have several spin-off benefits. Granting infra status and higher fund allocation for affordable housing (Rs 23,000 crore) is a welcome step," IMC's Deepak Premnarayen said.Manish Agarwal, Partner and Leader Infrastructure, PwC said, "Increased spend on Road and Rail is welcome, as is proposed Amendment to AAI Act to encourage city side development. PPP Model for development of airports in Tier 2 cities will need to be seen. Recapitalisation of Banks will help to some extent."

Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, JCB India said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has presented a well-balanced and constructive combined budget, focusing on the most critical aspects of the economy, such as Infrastructure, agriculture and rural India.

"The budget has managed to press key buttons that are necessary to bolster overall development of the nation...A record investment of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure, 1.31 lakh crore for railways is a big boost to the economy and a step in the right direction. Thrust on agriculture sector with credit set at Rs 10 lakh crore will aid country’s all round development," he said.

http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/budget-gives-a-big-legup-to-infrastructure-industry-experts/979309

International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva based global body working for better and safer roads has welcomed increased budget allocation for roads and highways, which will help in improving much needed India’s road transport infrastructure.

"The increase in budget allocation for roads and highways to Rs 64,000 crore from Rs 57,676 crore and earmarking of Rs 27,000 crore for rural roads in the Financial Year 2018 is welcome as this will help improve infrastructure," said K K Kapila chairman, IRF.

Vikash Kumar Sharda, Director, Capital Projects & Infrastructure, PwC, said the Budget focuses on rural roads and the Highway Ministry needs to mobilise additional resources to achieve the target of road development.

Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics said, "The recent budget has been extremely positive for logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector."

Julian Bevis, Senior Director, South Asia, Maersk Group in response to the Union Budget said India has has the opportunity to increase its share in global trade and a 10 per cent reduction in trade costs can boost the country’s competitiveness and contribute additional revenues of up to USD 5.5 billion annually.

"Maersk welcomes the Budget’s proposed increase in expenditure on infrastructure for improving coastal road connectivity from ports to the hinterland, expanding railway connectivity, introducing end-to-end integrated transport solutions in partnership with logistics players, and encouraging public private partnerships for airport developments in certain smaller cities," he said.

These efforts complemented by timely implementation of GST, building of multi modal parks, increased emphasis on digitisation for greater transparency and the introduction of a trade infrastructure export scheme will all collectively boost quicker inland movement of cargo, he added.

Adarsh Hegde, Joint Managing Director, Allcargo Logistics said, "The Union Budget 2017 with an agenda to transform, energise and sanitise India is reasonably balanced for an inclusive growth of the Indian economy."

Akhil Sambhar, Tax Partner, Infrastructure practice, EY India said, though the budget for fiscal year 2017-18 has not seen much tax sops being given out for the infrastructure sector but steps have been taken to rationalise tax provisions, curb and dis-incentivise black money, promote digital economy, bring transparency etc which should help in achieving good governance.

Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Arun Lakhani commented, "A big infrastructure push along with a substantial hike in provisions for the National Highways in the Union

Budget for 2017-18 is a major takeaway. A 25 per cent higher capital expenditure is sure to give the economy a big growth momentum."

Headline : (REOPENS BCM 20) Domain : InTodayDate : February 01, 2017 Journalist: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/reopens-bcm-20/1/872524.html

Manish Agarwal, Partner and Leader Infrastructure, PwC said, "Increased spend on Road and Rail is welcome, as is proposed Amendment to AAI Act to encourage city side development. PPP Model for development of airports in Tier 2 cities will need to be seen. Recapitalisation of Banks will help to some extent."


"The budget has managed to press key buttons that are necessary to bolster overall development of the nation...A record investment of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure, 1.31 lakh crore for railways is a big boost to the economy and a step in the right direction. Thrust on agriculture sector with credit set at Rs 10 lakh crore will aid country?s all round development," he said.

International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva based global body working for better and safer roads has welcomed increased budget allocation for roads and highways, which will help in improving much needed India?s road transport infrastructure.



Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics said, "The recent budget has been extremely positive for logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector."

Julian Bevis, Senior Director, South Asia, Maersk Group in response to the Union Budget said India has has the opportunity to increase its share in global trade and a 10 per cent reduction in trade costs can boost the country?s competitiveness and contribute additional revenues of up to USD 5.5 billion annually.

"Maersk welcomes the Budget?s proposed increase in expenditure on infrastructure for improving coastal road connectivity from ports to the hinterland, expanding railway connectivity, introducing end-to-end integrated transport solutions in partnership with logistics players, and encouraging public private partnerships for airport developments in certain smaller cities," he said. MORE PTI NAM BAL

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/reopens-bcm-20/1/872524.html

Headline : (REOPENS BCM 20) Domain : dnaDate : February 02, 2017 Journalist: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-reopens-bcm-20-2306917

Manish Agarwal, Partner and Leader Infrastructure, PwC said, "Increased spend on Road and Rail is welcome, as is proposed Amendment to AAI Act to encourage city side development.

Manish Agarwal, Partner and Leader Infrastructure, PwC said, "Increased spend on Road and Rail is welcome, as is proposed Amendment to AAI Act to encourage city side development. PPP Model for development of airports in Tier 2 cities will need to be seen. Recapitalisation of Banks will help to some extent."


"The budget has managed to press key buttons that are necessary to bolster overall development of the nation...A record investment of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure, 1.31 lakh crore for railways is a big boost to the economy and a step in the right direction. Thrust on agriculture sector with credit set at Rs 10 lakh crore will aid country s all round development," he said.

International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva based global body working for better and safer roads has welcomed increased budget allocation for roads and highways, which will help in improving much needed India s road transport infrastructure.



Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics said, "The recent budget has been extremely positive for logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector." Julian Bevis, Senior Director, South Asia, Maersk Group in response to the Union Budget said India has has the opportunity to increase its share in global trade and a 10 per cent reduction in trade costs can boost the country s competitiveness and contribute additional revenues of up to USD 5.5 billion annually.

"Maersk welcomes the Budget s proposed increase in expenditure on infrastructure for improving coastal road connectivity from ports to the hinterland, expanding railway connectivity, introducing end-to-end integrated transport solutions in partnership with logistics players, and encouraging public private partnerships for airport developments in certain smaller cities," he said. MORE(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-reopens-bcm-20-2306917

Headline : Captains of Indian industry Speak on Budget 2017

Domain : News18

Date : February 02, 2017 Journalist: http://www.news18.com/news/business/captains-of-indian-industry-speak-on-budget-2017-1343804.html

Indian industry stakeholders have hailed the Union Budget 2017-18, especially the measures announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for infrastructure push, affordable housing and expansion of the BharatNet project.

Here is what captains of the Indian Industry said:

Brotin Banerjee, MD & CEO, Tata HousingInfrastructure status to affordable housing comes as a landmark announcement for the consumers and the real estate industry. Easy and dedicated access to institutional financing, higher limit on external commercial borrowings will attract more investments and assure sustained growth of affordable housing in India making it the core driving segment for real estate.

Anil Sardana, MD & CEO, Tata PowerThe government's commitment to rural electrification and the announcement of an additional 20,000 MW of solar target is a welcome step that gives a much needed boost to the renewable sector.Umesh Revankar, MD & CEO, Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd

The Union Budget 2017 continues to rightly focus on rural development and infrastructure sector. The planned investment in these two critical areas will not only create jobs but also give impetus to demand generation and economic growth.

Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP, Godrej AppliancesWe believe the recently announced budget will have a positive effect on the consumer appliances segment through increased demand for such products and push towards domestic manufacturing. Lower tax rates for individuals within 2.5 – 5 lakh income segment and rebate for others should give a fillip to consumer spending and demand for consumer appliances.

Statement from Nilaya Varma, Partner and Head, Healthcare, KPMG (India)Many of the targets set by the government for healthcare is very welcome and so is the focus on wellness, creating more clinical staff and leveraging existing assets. However, we need to see what is the real extra allocation for making these announcement happen... would have appreciated comment on plan for universal healthcare and infrastructure status.

Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra LogisticsThe recent budget has been extremely positive for logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South East Asia CBREOverall, the Union Budget 2017 augurs well for real estate, affordable housing and the infrastructure segment. The affordable housing sector is finally set to get infrastructure status. This was a long-awaited announcement.

A P Hota, MD & CEO, NPCIWe are happy that the government is focusing on digital payments and considering our products to cater to our diversified population. We will support the mission of achieving 2,500 crore digital transactions for FY 2017-18 through UPI, USSD *99#, IMPS, Aadhaar Pay, RuPay Debit cards and other upcoming products of NPCI.

Naveen Surya, MD, ItzCash & Chairman, Payments Council of IndiaWe welcome various measures to promote digital economy announced in the new budget by our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Measures like exemption of import duty on all types of PoS devices, additional 10 and 20 lakh POS terminals, No service charges on IRCTC bookings and incentivisation schemes on digital payments for merchants, along with ban on cash transactions above INR 3 Lacs will provide a huge boost to the country’s digital payment revolution.

Siddharth Chaturvedi, Director, AISECT

http://www.news18.com/news/business/captains-of-indian-industry-speak-on-budget-2017-1343804.html

I hail the Government’s decision of opening 100 international skill centres. Work is already in progress to map India skills sector to international skills sector. For example, there is already equivalence in skills in India and the UK. These 100 international skills centres will go a long way towards providing skilled manpower for the international skills market.

Headline : Budget is extremely positive for logistics

Domain : Domain-B

Date : February 01, 2017 Journalist: http://www.domain-b.com/economy/budget/union_budget_2017/comment/20170201_pirojshaw_sarkari.html

Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics on budget:The recent budget has been extremely positive for the logistics sector since it puts huge emphasis on infrastructure segments such as highways, railways, ports and aviation. Any expansion or enhancement of transportation infrastructure or even increase in consumption directly benefits the logistics sector.The construction of PMGSY roads will be accelerated to 133 km per day in 2016-17, against an average of 73 km during 2011-2014. This will ensure expansion of logistics activities to the under penetrated rural areas nationwide.

For transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping -a massive provision of Rs. 2,41,387 crore has been made in 2017-18. Better transportation infrastructure means lower logistics costs thereby making domestic manufacturing activity competitive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

The restructured scheme focused on export infrastructure, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will provide further growth opportunities to the logistics sector.

To promote its flagship 'Make in India' scheme, the government has tweaked customs and central excise duty structure. We expect this move to benefit domestic manufacturing activity and lead to enhanced demand for logistics activity to support increased production and supply-chain needs.

The announcement of GST Council finalising its recommendations on almost all issues and timely preparation of IT system needs to be welcomed. In an endeavour to create awareness about the new GST led taxation system, we support the government's move to reach-out to trade and industry.

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http://www.domain-b.com/economy/budget/union_budget_2017/comment/20170201_pirojshaw_sarkari.html

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