WAREHOUSING

In the First States Conference on Logistics held on 19th January 2021, it was discussed that in India, there are more than 66 different causes and violations due to which a truck can be stopped on the road by different enforcement agencies. These issues impact overall cost and quality of logistics services in the country as road carries majority of the cargo in the country (almost 59% of the overall trade). Around 40% of the drivers report dissatisfaction on how rules and regulations are enforced on the road in surveys by Asian Development Bank. Both truck drivers and fleet owners identified multiple check-posts and stops as a major operational challenge. In order to efficiently identify those who are willful offenders and strengthen enforcement of laws without causing issues to wider market, States accepted that there is a need to deepen the penetration of technology through Smart Enforcement.

Kerala presented how they have implemented Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) System and creating a risk-based mapping of trucks moving within the State. This system is linked with GST backend system and e-way bill application to verify the required documents for movement of trucks.

Uttar Pradesh also presented the solution through Smart Enforcement for vehicles involved in the transportation of minerals (Mines to Market). The objective was monitoring of commercial vehicles, carrying minerals from various mines within UP as well as vehicles coming from neighbouring States. State came up with a solution of installing smart check gates at multiple pit stops. These check gates were enabled with self-contained/UN-Manned/AI Based Solution to prevent and monitor illegal transportation of minerals through RFID-based check gates and IP Cameras for surveillance.

Through these presentations and discussions, few major next steps were identified by States. The identified way forward is as follows:

1. Primer study by ADB (on the topic of Smart Enforcement) to be shared with all the States and UTs
2. Dip-stick study to be initiated to understand current enforcement mechanism of each State and UT
3. Identification and prioritization of corridors to implement Smart Enforcement
4. Awareness drive to enforcement agencies to stop movement of protruding cargo

Warehousing