New Delhi: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has expressed strong confidence that India's logistics costs will decline to 9 per cent of GDP, driven by the country's accelerating pace of road infrastructure development. Speaking at the 57th EEPC India National Awards for top engineering exporters, Gadkari cited recent research conducted by IIT Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Chennai. The studies, completed approximately six months ago, found that road infrastructure improvements have already succeeded in reducing logistics costs by around 6 per cent, bringing them down to roughly 10 per cent of GDP. "Earlier, logistics costs in India were as high as 16 per cent of GDP, compared to around 18 per cent in China and about 12 per cent in America and Europe," the minister said, underlining just how significant the progress has been over recent years. Gadkari used the occasion to stress that infrastructure development, technological innovation, and sustainable practices are not optional extras — they are central pillars for boosting India's export competitiveness. He pointed out that engineering exports play a vital role in generating foreign exchange earnings, creating jobs, and driving broader industrial growth across the country. On the infrastructure front, the minister revealed that 36 green express highways are currently under development. He said these corridors would fundamentally transform the logistics cost landscape, making the movement of goods faster, cheaper, and more environmentally responsible. Gadkari also highlighted the impressive growth trajectory of India's automotive sector. He noted that the two-wheeler industry is already exporting close to 50 per cent of its total production — a remarkable milestone that signals the sector's global competitiveness. The minister further shared that global automotive giants are now eyeing India not just as a market, but as a manufacturing and export base. "Now, all the famous brands of the world, from Mercedes to all the big people, are present in India and are looking to export their cars from here," he said.

Hyderabad-based AMR India Ltd has secured the rights to develop and operate a multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) in Nagpur, emerging as the winning bidder in a re-tender process after the original contract held by Deltabulk Shipping India Pvt Ltd was scrapped by the National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLM) over the developer's failure to arrange funds within the contractual timeline, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. AMR India Ltd submitted a minimum guaranteed revenue quote of Rs 863.438 crore for the 45-year concession period. The project was officially awarded on March 18, as confirmed by a government official who was among the sources consulted. The winning bid from AMR India is notably close to the Rs 865.89 crore that Deltabulk Shipping had quoted back in 2023 when it originally won the now-terminated contract. NHLM, which operates as a unit under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) — the country's principal highway development agency — is currently in the process of vetting the special purpose vehicle (SPV) documents submitted by AMR India. This review is taking place ahead of the formal signing of a concession agreement for the Nagpur project, the government source confirmed. Deltabulk Shipping's inability to deploy capital into the MMLP project in line with the required work schedule ultimately led to the termination of its contract in September 2025. A senior source explained the sequence of events: "They started the work, but we noticed that there were several issues relating to finance. Since the progress of the project was not in line with the concession agreement, NHLM terminated the contract and decided to re-tender the project." Deltabulk Shipping subsequently approached the Delhi High Court in an attempt to obtain a stay on the fresh tender proceedings. However, the high court declined to grant the stay and directed the company to pursue the matter through arbitration, a route that Deltabulk Shipping has not yet taken. The Nagpur MMLP carries additional political significance as it is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, who has long championed infrastructure-led development in the region. The Nagpur park is part of a much larger national logistics infrastructure push being driven by the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

DTDC Express has announced a strategic collaboration with India Post aimed at strengthening the country's logistics infrastructure and widening delivery access across underserved regions. The partnership, already operational across 21 states, has extended serviceability to more than 9,000 pin codes, marking a significant step in bridging the delivery gap between urban centers and remote corners of India. The memorandum of understanding was formally signed on April 27 in New Delhi. Neeraj Kumar Jha, General Manager of the Parcel Directorate at the Department of Posts, and Abhishek Chakraborty, Chief Executive Officer of DTDC Express, put pen to paper in a signing ceremony that also saw the presence of senior DTDC leadership, including Jatinder Sethi, National Channel Head; Prashant Thakur, Head of Cross Border operations; and Neha Bagchi, Head of Marketing. At its core, the collaboration is designed to marry two distinct strengths: India Post's unmatched nationwide physical network and DTDC's technology-powered logistics capabilities. Together, the two organizations aim to build a delivery ecosystem that is not only broader in reach but also more consistent and reliable in execution. The agreement reflects a recognition that as commerce continues to grow beyond metro cities, the logistics infrastructure supporting it must evolve in kind. One of the primary goals of the partnership is to make faster and more dependable deliveries possible in regions that have historically been difficult to serve. Geographic limitations have long been a barrier for both businesses and end consumers in remote areas. By combining resources and infrastructure, DTDC and India Post aim to reduce those barriers meaningfully, opening up markets that were previously out of reach for many sellers and making products more accessible for buyers in smaller towns and villages. The expanded pin code coverage is expected to have a measurable impact on delivery efficiency and network reliability.

Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) has underscored its expansive warehousing and logistics capabilities spread across the country, reinforcing its standing as a critical enabler of integrated supply chain solutions for both export-import (EXIM) and domestic cargo movement. The state-owned logistics giant operates a sprawling network of 55 warehouses pan-India, collectively offering a total warehousing capacity of approximately 439,330 square meters. This wide-reaching infrastructure is designed to address a broad spectrum of logistics requirements — from standard EXIM storage operations to domestic warehousing services — catering to the needs of diverse industry sectors across the country. Beyond conventional warehousing, CONCOR has been steadily strengthening its focus on value-added logistics services. A standout component of this strategy is the company's investment in advanced green cold chain facilities, strategically positioned at key locations including Dadri and Azadpur. These temperature-controlled facilities, spanning over 4,252 square meters, have been purpose-built to ensure the safe, efficient, and compliant handling of perishable and sensitive cargo.