Tag: India

Retailers in dogfight for air cargo space

Posted by | Oct 13, 2006 | |

The retail war has now moved to the skies. Retail companies are fiercely competing against each other to acquire cargo aircraft in a bid to put their backward logistics in place.

The proposed retail models being pursued by the retailers would demand speedy transportation of perishable goods, for which all agri hubs across the country need to be well connected.

This move by the retailers is also expected to throw up new opportunities for the airline companies in the cargo business. Several airline companies including low cost carriers like Air Deccan and Go Cargo among others are drawing up plans of expanding the cargo infrastructure.

While upcoming retail ventures like Reliance and Bharti are already in talks for striking long term strategic alliances with some international as well as domestic cargo fleets, others like Tatas, Birlas and RPG are learnt to be mulling similar options.

On the other hand, to leverage opportunities that this may throw up, some prominent low cost airlines are also venturing into dedicated cargo fleet. Experts say low cost airlines, already marred by increasing losses would want to leverage their existing infrastructure to grab a pie of the burgeoning retail sector.

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Postal bill likely to turn courier firms poorer by Rs 670 cr

Posted by | Oct 9, 2006 | |

The Indian express and courier industry could suffer a revenue loss of Rs 670 crore a year, or 30-35per cent reduction in business if proposed changes to the postal regulations go through, says a new survey and research report ‘Express Service Industry in India’ by the Mumbai-based Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) advisory. The proposed amendment to the bill allows India Post total exclusivity over all document shipments weighing less than 300 grams.
The report estimates the size of the Indian express industry at Rs 7,100 crore with 2,500 players, derived from their service tax payment of Rs 630 crore in ’05-06. This makes it bigger than the tea and entertainment industries. CARE’s study shows that over 52per cent of all domestic express volumes are documents, of which 70per cent weigh less than 300gm. Roughly 37per cent of all express documents are for the same-city, and 16per cent are to metro cities.

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DHL in India. The subcontinent is booming

Posted by | Oct 3, 2006 | |

DHL focuses on logistics infrastructure, the express market, and air freight
The liberalization of the economy, which the Indian government has been continuously driving forward since 1991, has laid the foundations for strong growth. India is now considered one of Asia’s most important markets and a preferred target for foreign investors. Industry is opening up to the export markets and a growing middle class provides for increasing domestic demand.

The outcome is an increase in growth flows. The volume of the transport and logistics market is assessed at EUR 22 billion, and average growth for the coming years at 12 percent, creating strong opportunities for companies in the forwarding and logistics industry.

DHL has consistently expanded its base in the past years – in 2003 with the founding of DHL Danzas Lemuir and in 2005 with the acquisition of an 80 percent share in Blue Dart Express, the leading national express service provider in India. Some 5,800 employees serve over 50,000 customers at 14,000 destinations country wide. Focuses include booming sectors such as the automotive, life sciences, and electronics industries. A task that is not so easy to accomplish in a country around nine times the size of Germany.

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Now, book rail tickets in post offices

Posted by | Oct 2, 2006 | |

Rail travellers may soon be able to book tickets online in post offices, with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation initiating talks with Department of Posts for using its network to issue e-tickets.

“We are in talks with Department of Posts to use their 1.5 lakh post offices for issuing e-tickets. We have also written to all district magistrates to work out a model, which will enable people in distant villages with computers and internet access to get e-tickets,” IRCTC Managing Director P K Goel said.

IRCTC is taking steps to increase points of ticket sales and facilitate online bookings through internet cafes, ATM networks of banks and post-offices among others.

It has also signed an MoU with State Bank of India under which the bank would set up internet facilities at its ATMs and branches where its customers can get printouts of train tickets while they pay with their SBI cards.

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US aligns with courier companies against India Post

Posted by | Sep 12, 2006 | |

What does Uncle Sam have in common with Kamal Nath’s commerce & industry ministry? Both have found meeting ground in opposing the proposed amendments to the Indian Post Office Act – which has given sleepless nights to the courier industry by threatening to turn all packages below 300 grams the exclusive preserve of India Post.

While the US government has indicated that the move would have a bearing on the ongoing services negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the commerce & industry ministry’s concern is over FDI in the courier segment. While opposition within the government is manageable, officials feel the US decision to champion the case of the courier industry could block the proposed amendments.

The changes, spearheaded by telecom & IT minister Dayanidhi Maran, include a levy of 10% on the turnover of courier companies to subsidise the universal service obligations (USO) of India Post, which serves the remote regions of the country. The changes in law also call for mandatory registration for all courier companies with a registration fee of Rs 25,000 and a renewal fee of Rs 10,000.

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