Notification on blending isobutanol with diesel this year: Road secretary V Umashankar
“Blending of diesel has been taken up with great seriousness. Research is ongoing and the results are quite encouraging,” he said at the CII Multimodal Transport and Logistics Summit on Friday.
“It is very likely that the blending mandate will start coming in later this year,” he said, adding that since diesel consumption is almost double that of gasoline, the impact on blending in terms of that diesel will have a much greater impact on our energy security than even gasoline blending.
Secretary Umashankar said the ministry is also considering introducing a draft notification on truck-trailer interchangeability soon to address the issue of battery swapping and battery charging for electric heavy commercial vehicles.
“What we’re looking at is tractor-trailer interchangeability, where instead of battery swapping, the entire front of the truck can be swapped out,” he said.
CII Knight Frank Report
According to the CII Knight Frank Report, cumulative investment of around $360 billion in infrastructure development in the country over the last decade has reduced India’s logistics cost from 13-14% of GDP a decade ago to 10-10.7% of GDP in FY2026, translating into estimated annual savings of $123-133 billion for the economy.
The report titled “Fast-Tracked MMLPs to Enable Model Transition: India’s Multimodal Logistics Transformation: A Strategic Outlook” released at the event stated that India will need many more multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) to achieve the next level of logistics efficiency. As a result of these continuous efforts, the country’s logistics ecosystem has improved significantly, contributing to improved connectivity, trade facilitation and supply chain performance, the report said, adding that India’s position in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) increased from 54th in 2014 to 38th in 2023.
The report noted that “Despite these developments, India’s logistics supply chain has not yet reached optimum efficiency.”
According to the report, India will need 216 MMLPs, each with an average annual capacity of 16-17 MMT, to achieve 2047 freight transport model change targets.
“Continued over-reliance on road transport for freight movement, delays in the development of integrated Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) and inadequate first and last mile connectivity continue to limit the shift of cargo movement towards rail and other efficient modes of transport,” he said.
“The real challenge is no longer the infrastructure deficit but the lack of connectivity nodes,” he added.
The report recommended accelerating project implementation, creating anchor demand through industrial clustering and load aggregation, and addressing critical first- and last-mile connectivity gaps to accelerate private sector participation in MMLPs.
