BHUBANESWAR: Principal Secretary of Commerce and Transport Department Usha Padhee on Friday stressed gender inclusivity in the logistics sector. As women in many jobs are now being lauded for their high standard of performance, the time has come to focus on gender-led logistics, she said.
Speaking at the logistics summit organised by the CII-Odisha Chapter here on Friday, she shed light on high logistics costs for big as well as small and medium companies which is affecting the competitiveness of the market and overall growth. “If logistics would be our one of the growth engines, it should be efficient. We need to focus on multimodal logistics and improve the regulation for road and railways sectors,” she observed.
Paradip Port Trust deputy chairman Nilabhra Dasgupta said both PM Gati Sakti and Sagarmala projects are infusing life into the port sector and the results are already visible. Coastal cargo handling by Paradip port is the highest among all coastal ports as it consecutively achieved more than 100 MT cargo per year since 2016, he said.
CII-Odisha State Council chairman Sashi Sekhar Mohanty stressed the need to focus on digitisation and smart logistics that can redefine efficiency, accuracy and transparency in the logistics sector. “We have identified logistic bottlenecks, which need a regulatory framework to create a conducive environment for stakeholders and have to up-skill our workforce to fulfil the growing demands,” he said. Airport director Prasanna Pradhan, CGM of NHAI Veerendra Singh and CMD of Balmer Lawrie AR Sekhar also spoke.