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GS Paper: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

  • National Interlinking of Rivers Authority (NIRA)

     

     

    The Central government is working on the establishment of an exclusive body to implement projects for linking rivers.

    National Interlinking of Rivers Authority

    • To be called the NIRA, the proposed body is expected to take up both inter-State and intra-State projects.
    • It will also make arrangements for generating up funds, internally and externally.
    • Headed by Union Minister of Jal Shakti, the panel includes Irrigation or Water Resources Ministers and Secretaries of States.
    • It is being assisted by a Task Force for ILR, which is a committee of experts essentially drawn from the Jal Shakti Ministry, Central Water Commission and the NWDA.

    About National River Linking Project (NRLP)

    • The NRLP formally known as the National Perspective Plan, envisages the transfer of water from water ‘surplus’ basins where there is flooding to water ‘deficit’ basins where there is drought/scarcity, through inter-basin water transfer projects.
    • It is designed to ease water shortages in western and southern India while mitigating the impacts of recurrent floods in the eastern parts of the Ganga basin.
    • Interlinking of rivers was conceived more than 125 years ago by Sir Arthur Cotton, mainly to facilitate trade but it was not implemented then.
    • The proposed NRLP, now comprises 29 canals totalling 9,600 km, will involve the movement of 245 trillion litres of water.
    • If and when implemented, it will be one of the biggest inter-basin water transfer projects in the world.

    ILR Projects in India

    • As of now, six ILR projects — the Ken-Betwa, Damanganga- Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga, Mahanadi-Godavari and Godavari-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) — have been under examination of the authorities.
    • The Ken-Betwa ILR is India’s first such project.
    • With regard to the peninsular rivers, the Centre has chosen to focus on the Godavari-Cauvery link than the earlier proposal to link the Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery rivers.

    Issues and Concerns

    Ecological issues

    One of the major concerns is that rivers change their course in 70–100 years and thus once they are linked, future change of course could create huge practical problems for the project.

    Aqua life

    A number of leading environmentalists are of the opinion that the project could be an ecological disaster. There would be a decrease in downstream flows resulting in reduction of fresh water inflows into the seas seriously jeopardizing aquatic life.

    Deforestation

    Creation of canals would need large areas of land resulting in large scale deforestation in certain areas.

    Areas getting submerged

    Possibility of new dams comes with the threat of large otherwise habitable or reserved land getting submerged under water or surface water. Fertile deltas will be under threat, with coastal erosion expected to threaten the land and livelihoods of local economies that support 160 million people.

    Displacement of people

    As large strips of land might have to be converted to canals, a considerable population living in these areas must need to be rehabilitated to new areas.

    Dirtying of clean water

    As the rivers interlink, rivers with dirty water will get connected to rivers with clean water, hence dirtying the clean water.

    Disrupting of ecological flow

    On implementation, water discharge in 23 out of 29 rivers will reduce considerably, they say. The Ganga will see a 24% decrease in flow. Its tributaries Gandak (-68%) and Ghaghara (-55%) will be the worst affected. While the Brahmaputra will see only a 6% loss, its tributaries will see massive flow reductions: Manas (-73%), Sankosh (-72%) and Raidhak (-53%). Changes in water flow and trapping of silt in reservoirs will see a dip in the sediment deposited by rivers.

    Must read:

    https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/national-river-linking-project-dream-or-disaster

  • Pushing the wrong energy buttons

    Context

    For more than a decade, no major meeting between an Indian Prime Minister and a U.S. President has passed without a ritual reference to India’s promise made in 2008 to purchase American nuclear reactors.

    Issues in the nuclear deal

    • Construction of reactors: During president Trumps visit techno-commercial offer for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India at the earliest date was considered.
    • More expensive: Indeed, it has been clear for years that electricity from American reactors would be more expensive than competing sources of energy.
    • Prone to disasters: Moreover, nuclear reactors can undergo serious accidents, as shown by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
    • No liability for accidents: Westinghouse has insisted on a prior assurance that India would not hold it responsible for the consequences of a nuclear disaster.
      • Which is effectively an admission that it is unable to guarantee the safety of its reactors.

    Who will be benefited from the deal?

    • The two beneficiaries: The main beneficiaries from India’s import of reactors would be Westinghouse and India’s atomic energy establishment that is struggling to retain its relevance given the rapid growth of renewables.
    • Political implications: Mr Trump has reasons to press for the sale too. His re-election campaign for the U.S. presidential election in November.
      • The election centrally involves the revival of U.S. manufacturing and he has been lobbied by several nuclear reactor vendors, including Westinghouse.
      • Finally, he also has a conflict-of-interest.

    Comparisons with the renewables

    • The total cost of the reactors: The six reactors being offered to India by Westinghouse would cost almost ₹6 lakh crore.
      • If India purchases these reactors, the economic burden will fall upon consumers and taxpayers.
    • Per unit price: In 2013, it was estimated that even after reducing these prices by 30%, to account for lower construction costs in India, the first year tariff for electricity would be about ₹25 per unit.
    • Comparison with solar energy: Recent solar energy bids in India are around ₹3 per unit.
      • Lazard, the Wall Street firm, estimates that wind and solar energy costs have declined by around 70% to 90% in just the last 10 years and may decline further in the future.

    Safety concern with nuclear energy

    • Long term cost in case of disasters: Nuclear power can also impose long-term costs.
      • Chernobyl accident: Large areas continue to be contaminated with radioactive materials from the 1986 Chernobyl accident and thousands of square kilometres remain closed off for human inhabitation.
      • Fukushima accident: Nearly a decade after the 2011 disaster, the Fukushima prefecture retains radioactive hotspots.
      • The cost of clean-up: the cost of clean-up has been variously estimated to range from $200-billion to over $600-billion.
    • No liability towards company: The Fukushima accident was partly caused by weaknesses in the General Electric company’s Mark I nuclear reactor design.
    • But that company paid nothing towards clean-up costs, or as compensation to the victims, due to an indemnity clause in Japanese law.
    • What are the provisions in Indian laws: Westinghouse wants a similar arrangement with India. Although the Indian liability law is heavily skewed towards manufacturers, it still does not completely indemnify them.
      • So nuclear vendors have tried to chip away at the law. Instead of resisting foreign suppliers, the Indian government has tacitly supported this process.

    India’s experience with nuclear energy

    • Starting with the Tarapur 1 and 2 reactors, in Maharashtra, India’s experiences with imported reactors have been poor.
    • The Kudankulam 1 and 2 reactors, in Tamil Nadu, the only ones to have been imported and commissioned in the last decade, have been repeatedly shut down.
    • Producing less than capacity: In 2018-19, these reactors produced just 32% and 38%, respectively, of the electricity they were designed to produce.
    • These difficulties are illustrative of the dismal history of India’s nuclear establishment.
    • Electricity generation stagnant at 3%: In spite of its tall claims, the fraction of electricity generated by nuclear power in India has remained stagnant at about 3% for decades.

    Conclusion

    The above factors indicate that the government should take the rational decision on the adoption of nuclear energy given its cost and the risk involved and the better alternative available in the form of solar and other renewable energies.

     

  • [pib] Star Labelling Programme

     

    The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has included Deep Freezer and Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC) under its Star Rating Programme on a voluntary basis.

    What is the news?

    • The program will be initially launched in voluntary mode from 2ndMarch, 2020 to 31st December, 2021.
    • Thereafter, it will be made mandatory after reviewing the degree of market transformation in this particular segment of appliances.
    • In order to cover split ACs beyond the scope of existing BEE star labeling program upto a cooling capacity of 18kW, BEE has prepared a star labeling program for split ACs having cooling capacities in excess of 10.5kW and upto 18.0 kW.
    • This category of Air conditioners is termed as LCAC primarily due to their application in commercial air conditioning.
    • Through this initiative, it is expected to save around 2.8 Billion Units by FY2030, which is equivalent to GHG reduction of 2.4-million-ton Carbon Dioxide.

    Why such move?

    • Energy Efficiency has the maximum GHG abatement potential of around 51% followed by renewables (32%), biofuels (1%), nuclear (8%), carbon capture and storage (8%) as per the World Energy Outlook (WEO 2010).
    • India can avoid building 300 GW of new power generation up to 2040 with the implementation of ambitious energy efficiency policies (IEA – India 2020).
    • Successful implementation of Energy Efficiency Measures contributed to electricity savings of 86.60 BUs i.e. 7.14% of total electricity consumption of the country and emission reduction of 108.28 million tonnes of CO2 during 2017-18.

    About Star Labeling Programme

    • The programme has been formulated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency, as part of its mandate, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
    • Under this Programme, BEE has covered 24 appliances till date wherein 10 appliances are under the mandatory regime.
    • The existing BEE star labelling program for Air Conditioners is based on Indian Standard IS 1391 part 1, part 2 and covers AC with cooling capacities up to 10.5kW.

    Other facts: UDIT

    • Urja Dakshata Information Tool (UDIT) (udit.beeindia.gov.in), a first-ever initiative taken by BEE with the World Resources Institute (WRI), to facilitate a database on energy e­fficiency was also launched.
    • UDIT is a user-friendly platform that explains the energy efficiency landscape of India across industry, appliances, building, transport, municipal and agriculture sectors.
    • UDIT will also showcase the capacity building and new initiatives taken up by the Government across the sectors in the increasing energy efficiency domain.

  • [pib] ASKDISHA Chatbot

     

    In order to resolve queries of railway passengers over the internet pertaining to various services offered, Indian Railways had introduced the services of Artificial Intelligence-based ASKDISHA chatbot in October 2018 for the benefit of the users.

    ASKDISHA Chatbot

    • IRCTC had launched this chat bot to answer various queries about ticket booking, cancellation and various value-added services.
    • The chatbot is a special computer programme designed to simulate conversation with users, especially over the internet.
    • It was jointly developed by IRCTC and CoRover Private Limited, a Bangalore-based startup.
    • The first-of-its-kind initiative by IRCTC is aimed at facilitating accessibility by answering users’ queries pertaining to various services offered to railway passengers.

    What is the new update?

    • The ASKDISHA Chatbot was initially launched in English language but in order to further enhance the customer services rendered.
    • To further strengthen the services of the chatbot, IRCTC has now powered voice-enabled ASKDISHA to converse with customers in Hindi language also in the e-ticketing site irctc.co.in.
    • The customers can now ask queries to ASKDISHA in Hindi language by voice as well as text.
    • On an average, around three thousand enquiries are being handled by ASKDISHA in Hindi language on daily basis and the figure is increasing day by day which also shows the acceptability of the new feature by the customer.
    • IRCTC plans to launch ASKDISHA in more languages along with many other additional features in the near future.

  • Why have LPG prices seen a sharp rise?

     

    Recently, LPG prices, which are revised on a monthly basis, went up yet again.

    What influences LPG prices in India?

    • Domestic prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are based on a formula — the import parity price (IPP), which is based on international LPG prices.
    • Saudi Aramco’s LPG price acts as the benchmark for the IPP and includes the free-on-board price, ocean freight, customs duties, port dues and the like.
    • This dollar-denominated figure is converted into rupees before local costs — such as local freight, bottling charges, marketing costs, margins for oil marketing firms and dealer commissions and the GST — are added.
    • This helps the government arrive at the retail selling price for LPG.
    • The government resets the LPG price every month, the decision being influenced by international prices and how the rupee has behaved against the dollar in the immediately preceding weeks.

    Who will the price rise affect?

    • The price increase will affect retail consumers who have given up the subsidy.
    • The government has said that for those who avail subsidy, the increase would be mostly absorbed by the rise in subsidy.
    • The Centre said the price of an unsubsidized cylinder would increase from ₹714 to ₹858.50 in Delhi, for example, and that the subsidy offered would go up from ₹153.86 to ₹291.48.
    • Of the 27.76 crore retail consumers, 26.12 crore consumers avail LPG subsidy. Likewise, for Ujjwala consumers, the subsidy would go up from ₹174.86 to ₹312.48 per cylinder.

    Does this help the government move to an open pricing regime?

    • Prior to the latest round of the price increase, the government had raised LPG cylinder prices by ₹62, starting from August 2019.
    • Compare this with the increase of ₹82 that had taken place over five years to mid-2019, indicating a penchant for increasingly lesser subsidy.
    • In the latest round, though, the Centre has sought to absorb much of the increase for those availing subsidy.
    • It looks like the most recent increase has been beyond its control and it is hence raising the subsidy levels to protect consumers, given that the economy is reeling from lack of consumer spending.

    What is the outlook?

    • With international crude prices on the downtrend, it is plausible the LPG prices too would see a slump.
    • Aramco has lowered its propane price for February to $505 per metric tonne.
    • Assuming we receive no surprises from the rupee-dollar tango, a softening of LPG prices in the domestic context may be expected.

    What are the implications for the broader economy?

    • At a time when consumer demand, in general, for goods and services in the country has slumped, more cash in the hands of the retail consumer may have helped spur demand.
    • It is ironic that the government has had to raise LPG prices now.
    • This sucks away even more disposable income from those consumers who pay market rates for LPG. As a result, household budgets are bound to go up, especially for those not availing the subsidy.
    • The increase in LPG price could spur headline inflation even further. As it is, the consumer price index inflation has seen a rise over the past few months.

  • Corporate Model of Indian Railways

     

    The Kashi Mahakal Express is the country’s third ‘corporate’ train after the two Tejas Express trains between Delhi-Lucknow and Mumbai-Ahmedabad started over the past few months.

    A new model

    • This is a new model being actively pushed by Indian Railways- to ‘outsource’ the running of regular passengers’ trains to its PSU, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
    • This has been dubbed an ‘experiment’ as a natural extension of this model is to lease out 100 routes to private players to run 150 trains, something that is in the works.

    How does the model work?

    • In this model, the corporation takes all the decisions of running the service– fare, food, onboard facilities, housekeeping, complaints etc.
    • Indian Railways is free from these encumbrances and gets to earn from IRCTC a pre-decided amount, being the owner of the network. This amount has three components- haulage, lease and custody.
    • The haulage charge IRCTC is paying for the Tejas trains is in the range of Rs 800 per kilometer.
    • This includes use of the fixed infrastructure like tracks, signalling, driver, station staff, traction and pretty much everything needed to physically move the rake.

    Finances

    • On top of that IRCTC has to pay the lease charges on the rake as Indian Railways coaches are leased to its financing arm, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC).
    • Added to that there is a per-day custody charge, of keeping the rake safe and sound while it is in the custody of the PSU.
    • Roughly each of these components works out to be around Rs 2 lakh per day for the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas rake.
    • In other words, IRCTC has to pay Indian Railways a sum total of these three charges, roughly Rs 14 lakh for the Lucknow Tejas runs in a day (up and down) and then factor in a profit over and above this.
    • This money is payable even if the occupancy is below expectation and the train is not doing good business.

    What powers does IRCTC have?

    • Being a corporate entity with a Board of Directors and investors, IRCTC insists that the coaches it gets from Railways are new and not in a run-down condition, as is seen in many trains.
    • The quality of the coaches has a direct bearing on its business.
    • In this model, IRCTC has full flexibility to decide the service parameters and even alter them without having to go to Railway ministry or its policies.
    • To that end, the business of running trains can be run with the independence needed to run a business with profit motive.
    • This, policymakers believe creates the environment for enhanced service quality and user experience for the passengers.
    • IRCTC gets the freedom to decide even the number of stoppages it wants to afford on a route, depending on the needs of its business model.

    What is Indian Railways’ benefit from this model?

    • The bright side for Indian Railways is that it doesn’t have to suffer the losses associated with running these trains thanks to under-recovery of cost due to low fares and its own hefty overheads.
    • The lease on its coaches is also taken care of.

    Is this the same model for private train operators?

    • The model in which private train operators are sought to be engaged is different wherein along with haulage of Rs 668 per kilometer the operator needs to agree to revenue sharing with Railways.
    • The company willing to share the highest percentage of revenue will win the contract.
    • Private players may not need to pay lease and custody charges as it is expected that they will bring in their own rolling stock.
    • All this is because over the next five years, after the two dedicated freight corridors are operationalised and a lion’s share of freight trains move to the corridors, a lot of capacity will free up in the conventional railway lines for more passenger trains to run to cater to the demand.
    • The government wants private players and maybe also its own PSU, along with Indian Railways, to share the load of pumping in more trains into the system.

  • [pib] Godavari and Cauvery River Linking Project

     

    The draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Godavari and Cauvery River Linking Project has been completed by National Water Development Agency (NWDA).

    Godavari– Cauvery Link Project

    • The project consists of 3 links viz., Godavari (Inchampalli/Janampet) – Krishna (Nagarjunasagar), Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) – Pennar (Somasila) and Pennar (Somasila) – Cauvery (Grand Anicut).
    • This proposal to link Godavari, which is prone to flooding, and Krishna, which doesn’t have enough water, has been around for several decades.
    • While river-interlinking for the purposes of navigation as an idea was mooted by the British in India, in 1972, engineer and Union Minister KL Rao proposed the linking of Godavari and Krishna for irrigation.
    • The decades-old proposal finally took shape in the 2000s, and in 2016, the Andhra government linked the two rivers with the Pattiseema-Polavaram Lift Irrigation project, in Andhra’s West Godavari district.

  • Agartala-Akhaura Railway Link

     

    The landmark Agartala-Akhaura railway line to connect the northeastern region with Bangladesh is expected to be ready by the end of 2021.

    About Agartala-Akhaura Link

    • MoU for Indo-Bangla Railway connectivity project viz. Agartala-Akhaura new Broad Gauge line (15.06 Km) was signed on 16.02.2013 between India and Bangladesh.
    • The link will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India and from there to Agartala.
    • The Project was at standstill because of the sharp increase in the cost of land for the sections in India.
    • The Railway Ministry would bear the cost of laying the 5.46-km track on the Indian side and the cost of the 10.6-km track on the Bangladesh side was being borne by the Ministry of External Affairs.

  • Ujh Multi-purpose Project

     

    The Union government has approved a nearly ₹6,000-crore multi-purpose project for the Ujh multi-purpose project.

    Ujh Multi-purpose Project

    • The project will store around 781 million cubic meters of water of river Ujh, a tributary of river Ravi.
    • It aims to provide uninterrupted water for irrigation to farmers in J&K’s Kathua district and to produce power.
    • After completion of the project, utilization of waters of eastern rivers allotted to India as per the Indus Water Treaty would be enhanced by utilising the flow that presently goes across the border to Pakistan.

    Back2Basics

    Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

    • The IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
    • According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
    • The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan
    • The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. while laying down precise regulations for India to build projects
    • India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.

    Present Status of Development

    • To utilize the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi.
    • These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc has helped India utilize nearly entire share (95 %) of waters of Eastern rivers.
    • However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilized to Pakistan below Madhopur.
    • The three projects will help India to utilize its entire share of waters given under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960:

    I. Resumption of Construction of Shahpurkandi project

    • It is a dam project under construction on Ravi River.

    II. Construction of Ujh multipurpose project

    • It is a dam project under construction on Ujh, a tributary of Ravi River.

    III. 2nd Ravi Beas link below Ujh

    • This project is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi, even after construction of Thein Dam.
    • It aims constructing a barrage across river Ravi for diverting water through a  tunnel link to Beas basin.

  • [pib] Draft National Logistics Policy

    The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry reviewed the draft National Logistics Policy and the proposed action plan for implementation of the policy prepared by the Department of Logistics, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

    The key feature of the draft policy

    • The draft National Logistics Policy has been prepared in consultation with the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Civil Aviation.
    • Forty-six Partnering Government Agencies (PGAs)
    • Inputs were analysed in detail for consideration in the Policy.
    • Vision and Objectives for Logistics in India: To drive economic growth and trade competitiveness of the country through a truly integrated, seamless, efficient, reliable and cost-effective logistics network, leveraging best in class technology, processes and skilled manpower.
    • Key objectives of the national logistics policy:  Given the pivotal role of the logistics sector in the development of the economy and the need to incorporate learnings from global best practices, the policy outlines an ambitious set of objectives.

    The following are some of the key objectives for logistics in India, to be achieved in the next five years:

    1. Creating a single point of reference for all logistics and trade facilitation matters in the country which will also function as a knowledge and information sharing platform

    2. Driving logistics cost as a % of GDP down from estimated current levels of 13-14% to 10% in line with best-in-class global standards and incentivize the sector to become more efficient by promoting integrated development of logistics

    Objectives of the Logistics Policy

    • Creating a National Logistics e-marketplace as a one-stop marketplace. It will involve simplification of documentation for exports/imports and drive transparency through digitization of processes involving Customs, PGAs etc in regulatory, certification and compliance services
    • Creating a data and analytics centre to drive transparency and continuous monitoring of key logistics metrics
    • Encouraging industry, academia and government to come together to create a logistics Center of Excellence, and drive innovation in the logistics sector
    • Creating and managing on an ongoing basis, an Integrated National Logistics Action Plan which will serve as a master plan for all logistics-related development.
    • Providing an impetus to trade and hence economic growth by driving competitiveness in exports
    • Doubling employment in the logistics sector by generating additional 10-15 million jobs and focus on enhancing skills in the sector and encouraging gender diversity
    • Improve India’s ranking in the Logistics Performance Index to between 25 to 30
    • Strengthening the warehousing sector in India by improving the quality of storage infrastructure including specialized warehouses across the country
    • Reducing losses due to agri-wastage to less than 5% through effective agri-logistics
    • Providing impetus to the MSME sector in the country through a cost-effective logistics network
    • Promoting cross-regional trade on e-commerce platforms by enabling a seamless flow of goods
    • Encouraging the adoption of green logistics in the country

    Policy thrust areas

    This policy defines the key thrust areas for logistics in India, which will be the focus of the relevant ministries as well as act as guidance to the state governments. The prioritized focus areas for logistics are detailed below:

    • Focusing on critical projects to drive an optimal modal mix and to enable first mile and last-mile connectivity
    • Driving the development of Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs)
    • Driving interventions to reduce logistics cost and promote logistics efficiency for movement of key commodities
    • Creating a single-window Logistics e-marketplace
    • Setting up a Logistics Data and Analytics Center
    • Creating a Center of Trade facilitation and Logistics excellence (CTFL) and leveraging the expertise of multilateral agencies
    • Creating an Integrated National Logistics Action Plan and align with respective state development plans
    • Support strengthening of the warehousing sector
    • Enhancing transport and rolling stock infrastructure
    • Streamlining EXIM processes to promote trade competitiveness
    • Reducing dwell time for interstate cargo movement by road
    • Promoting standardization in the logistics sector
    • Ensuring seamless movement of goods at Land Customs Stations (LCS) and Integrated Check Points (ICP)
    • Generating employment, enhancing skilling and encouraging gender diversity in the logistics sector
    • Setting up a Startup acceleration fund

    Funding for logistics initiatives

    A non-lapsable Logistics fund will be created, to drive progress against the key thrust areas. The Logistics fund can be deployed for the following

    • Providing viability gap funding for select MMLP projects, first and last-mile projects and projects for poorly-serviced remote areas.
    • Incentivizing select logistics skilling programs and training institutes
    • Setting up a start-up acceleration fund to incentivize the development of new technology in logistics particularly the farm to plate space
    • Creating the Center for Trade Facilitation and Logistics Excellence (CTFL)  Setting up a big data-enabled logistics data hub and analytics centre
    • Creating a single-window logistics e-marketplace

    Institutional Framework & Governance for Logistics

    For this purpose, four committees/councils will be constituted:

    • National Council for Logistics, chaired by the Prime Minister
    • Apex inter-ministerial Committee, chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry
    • India Logistics Forum chaired by the Commerce Secretary with representation from key industry/business stakeholders and academia.
    • Empowered task force on logistics will be created, as a standing committee chaired by the head of the Logistics Wing.