India stands committed to reducing road accidents by 50 percent by 2020, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari said. He is seeking Indian corporate sectors co-operation in inculcating a culture on road safety in society and take up road safety as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. “Indian corporate sector should encourage its members to adopt safe driving practices to minimise road accidents. The corporate sector should conduct the medical examination and eyesight tests of commercial vehicles entering their premise

Freightbazaar is the winner of the Auto Tech Review IATIA Automotive Tech Start-up of the Year award in 2017. Bhaven Shah, co-founder, FreightBazaar in the guest commentary with Auto Tech Review discuss about, "Scale Up Businesses and Logistics Operations".

Commuters will soon have multiple options of paying user charges on national highways, including through their mobile phones linked to prepaid wallets, credit cards or bank accounts. This will ensure automatic deduction of the toll amount from their bank accounts to allow seamless travel through toll plazas and provide an option to those either not using smart tags (FASTags) or not recharging them.

Each time a vehicle pays toll on a national highway, its movement may now be mapped for the distance it travels on that road. This will be done to charge toll in proportion to the road used by that vehicle. A pilot run for such ‘geo-fencing’ on the Delhi-Mumbai highway is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) finalise the proposal of charging toll based on the distance travelled.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India has promulgated Green Highways (Plantations, Transplantations, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015 on 29th September 2015 to develop green corridors along National Highways for sustainable environment and inclusive growth. The policy envisions “development of eco-friendly National Highways with participation of the communities, farmers, NGOs, private sector, institutions, government agencies and the Forest Departments for economic growth and development in a sustainable manner."

One of the very prominent business services is logistics. If you are the owner of a logistics business or in the role of a logistics business manager then make sure to read on as this article will give you the best insights to optimize your business to make the most out it.

Logistics—moving goods and connecting producers with consumers—is a critical part of the modern economy. In India, this sector comprises 14% of gross domestic product (GDP), much higher than in the US or Europe, where it is 8-9%, according to McKinsey research. That matters; High logistics costs hurt Indian competitiveness.

Domestic sales of commercial vehicles (CVs) are set to touch a new milestone during FY 2017-18. They will cross their earlier peak of 809,499 units sold in FY 2011-12. The FY18 is slated to better this record by over 20,000-30,000 units, as the 11-month (April-February 2017-18) period has already experienced sales of 747,774 units, according to SIAM(Society of Indian Automible Manufacturers) data.

Businesses will continue to file summary sales return GSTR-3B till June as the GST Council extended the present system of return filing by three months. Briefing reporters after the GST Council meeting here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said electronic way or e-way bill for movement of goods between states will be implemented from April 1.

Auto Tech Review is India’s first & only automotive magazine with a core focus on technology & it was launched in January 2012. The magazine takes a 360-degree approach to automotive journalism and disseminates knowledge and information on the sector through its initiatives in print, online, digital and events.

India's logistics and supply chain sector is undergoing a wave of change as two big moves by the government—implementing GST and giving infrastructure status to the sector—has led companies to ascribe unprecedented importance to this aspect of the business, making investments in it and hiring the best talent to steer it.

India is the second largest populated country in the world and it is a market for 1.2 billion consumers which indicates that it is one of the faster-growing economies in the world and thus it requires efficient transportations and logistics industry.

FreightBazaar is India’s most reliable and efficient platform to manage freight transportation operations. It allows companies to book trucks online, is now working at making life easy for the truckers and drivers on its platform.

Bhaven Shah, Co-Founder of FreightBazaar, in an exclusive conversation with Ritwik Sinha talks about his journey with Ganesh Rewanwar, evolution of the company, the increasing adoption of technology in the domestic logistics space and new offerings which the company intends to add to the base platform.

Logistics startups in India are crusading for the Electronic Proof of Delivery (e-POD) to release blocked credit for transport providers in the freight transport industry. Even though the central government notified rules for the E-way bill on August 30, a move aimed at providing a framework for the transport of goods under the GST regime, the transporters are still woeful owing to huge amount of funds being locked up as credit because of the prevailing system of producing a "proof of delivery" in hard copy. 

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is rolled out on 1 July, 2017 (in few countries it is also known and Value Added Tax) and definitely this will create a positive as well as negative impact on various sectors. Sectors like Textiles, Auto, Engineering, Capital goods, Power Equipment, Pharmaceutical, Real Estate, Logistics and Transportation are going to have positive impact whereas service sectors like Airlines, Insurance, Telecom are going to have negative impact from the higher service tax rate of 18% v/s 15% currently.

It’s a well-known fact that the logistics industry impacts a very large segment of business worldwide with an estimated market size of more than four trillion. Logistics is a key growth parameter for most industries and sectors including e-commerce and manufacturing. Due to poor road conditions and long waits on tolls, Indian trucks travel only 20 days a month as compared to 25 days in developing countries. According to a survey, the average speed of trucks is 20kph. So, a truck in India can cover only 250-300km a day compared to 700-800km in developed countries such as the US and Europe. 

As you may be aware, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is proposed to replace all indirect taxes like Service tax, Excise, etc expected starting 1st July, 2017. Introduction of GST would contribute significantly towards indirect tax reforms in India through Uniform indirect taxation system in India.

MONSOON- It's a season for which we actually wait after the longest and hottest summer season. Everyone wants to enjoy monsoon as all are frustrated with hot and humid summers. This year it is expected to hit during the first week of June. According to India Meteorological Department's (IMD) forecast, "monthly rainfall across the country is likely to be 96% of its long-term average during July, and 99% of the average during August." So this year there is a 65% probability that rains will be normal to excess for the entire country.

Transportation sector in India contributes to almost 90 percent of the country's passenger traffic and 65 percent of the freight. This is the most unorganized sector but also the most important, as our economy is based on it. In this sector, the major role is played by the truck drivers, they are the one because of whom the economy is working smoothly. But does anyone have thought of major challenges which are faced by them in their daily lives?

Many companies do not realize that they can scale their businesses and improve their margins by employing concepts like Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Total Value of Ownership (TVO) in their transport operations.

Logistics and Transportation sector in India is facing major challenges due to bad road conditions, traffic, highway robberies, etc., which results in delay of consignment and further affecting the economy. To overcome this challenges government is taking major initiative, they are taking steps to improve the freight transportation in India.

Capt. Uday Palsule is a renowned name in the Logistics Industry and he is a successful entrepreneur who has joined as an advisor to FreightBazaar.com, India’s first Integrated and the most trusted online platform for Inter-city Freight Transport.

An event is organized by TechSci Events on Air Quality Control and Monitoring Summit on 5th and 6th May in New Delhi. This is a 2 day interactive session that will create a robust understanding of the Air Quality in India, the reasons why the Air Quality is deteriorating in India and also suggest measures to monitor and control it. It will also help us in equipping with the latest technicalities and innovations involved in monitoring and controlling Air Pollution.

Transportation performance is invariably linked to company’s ability to stay competitive in the market. Factors such as vendor reliability, timely deliveries, standardization of hiring processes affect company’s production and inventory cost and customer satisfaction. To strengthen the transportation function, companies should start setting organization goal on basis of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). And, they should use technology based systems and processes. By adopting this approach, companies will start to see reduction in total cost while increase in sales and reputational enhancements.

Transportation sector is the backbone of the Indian economy. Road transport is the most preferred mode for moving freight. However, as the total number of registered commercial vehicles on Indian roads are increasing, so are air pollution and number of road accidents. FreightBazaar and DFAG (Domain and Functional Advisory Group) have joined hands to promote awareness about transport emissions and trucking safety while bringing innovative dimensions in the transportation industry.

The interview titled "Measures of Sophistication for B2B Inter-City Freight" was conducted by Cargo Connect Magazine - one of the India's leading magazine that aims in providing logistics industry news and known for its consistent high quality editorial and production.

Another milestone crossed by FreightBazaar. We proved ourselves as one of the top innovators at SME (Small Enterprise Magazine) Business Awards. Last year, FreightBazaar was recognized as one of the disruptive startups at TiE Detroit - USA. Also, as one of the top innovators in India at India Innovation Initiative Summit in Delhi.

FreightBazaar's innovation was profiled in the recent edition of Small Enterprise Magazine. Read about the FreightBazaar startup journey, its ambition and its recent nomination for the Small Enterprise Business Awards.

At FreightBazaar, we always try to find innovative ways to help our supplier partners so that they can benefit from use of technology and manage their business more effectively.

We at FreightBazaar believe in continuous innovations and bringing positive change in the B2B freight transportation. Our efforts were recognized at TiEcon 2016 Summit in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Are you facing problems in getting reliable truck suppliers to ship your material from one city to another? Don't worry, FreightBazaar has a unique as well as simple way to help you and provide you best services, as we are India's most reliable and cost-effective inter-city FTL solution provider.

India Innovation Initiative (i3) recognises FreightBazaar as one of the top Innovators

Hanumanta Rao joins FreightBazaar as president of sales and operations. He served as vice president of TCI - Freight Division

Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest” has a whole new meaning in this digital age we live in, and if you are an SME looking to gain from the boom in online eCommerce, fitness lies in improving logistics and that means survival in an age where sky is the limit.

Trucking is the foundation for movement of material that we need in our daily lives. Then, why not look at improving the truck hiring processes and bring positive change in the overall quality of experience for those associated with the trucking related operations? Let us hope that the coming transformation of the Indian Trucking Industry will significantly improve the lives of those involved. After all, industry with a manpower of around 10 Million (1 Crore) people should aspire to a better decade!