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LETTER FROM INDIA/Ramesh Kumar

Things I’d like to see: 

- Beyond the emissions reporting, is there any legislation coming through similar to Europe and North America on truck emissions? 

- A short overview on the developments at the truck builders - is the expectation India will be a battery electric market? Is there interest in Hydrogen? 

- Are there any big projects which you could summarise? I remember reading about a highway electrification project linking two of the big cities, but I think it got shelved?

Circa 2070 is almost half a century away. That is when India is committed to reach Net Zero Carbon Emissions status, subject to a lot of imponderables. No doubt, India's self-imposed deadline to support global climate change challenge is 20 years beyond the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) target date.

The task is gargantuan and India is fully aware of the serious economic and social implications of carbon emissions.  "Recognizing that climate change is a global collective action problem, India is committed to addressing the challenge with firm adherence to multilateralism based on equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), as per UNFCC," said India's Minister for Environment and Climate Change xxx Yadav at the 2022 Meet ....

Despite drawing attention to the fact that Southern Asia contributed only 4% of historical net anthropogenic emissions between 1850 and 2019 with almost 24% global population cohabiting this landmass and North America and Europe alone have contributed 10 times more to global cumulative emissions during the same period with approx 13% global population, India is not shirking its responsibility to fight the climate change battle.

India is actively pursuing energy efficiency as one of the key means of promoting low carbon development. It is estimteed India's annual primary energy consumption per capita in 2019 was 28.7 gigajoules (GJ), considerably lower than voth developed and developing country peers. Its clear that India has drawn a clear roadmap keeping its social and economic obligations: "to support its demographic transition and consequent job creation needs, its agrarian and urban transiiton and infrastructure development" and equivocally maintains that its mitigtion efforts "are driven not just by climate-specific policies but also by broader development choices." India is unlikely to succumb to pressure from the matured economies. 

Having said that, what's on its plate in this battle for sustenence and survival? Coal continues to be its leading natural fuel resource. Natural gas consumption is several notches below the OECD levels. It is a known fact that India has met its pre-2020 voluntary contribution through its policies and actions which are compatible with the 20 C wrming target of the Paris Agreement. 

At the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) of the UNFCCC in Glasgow in August 2022, India updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Under this commitment, India would meet 50% of its cumulative electric ower installed capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030; reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 45% below 2050 levels by 2030; prepare and  propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on the traditions and values of conservation and moderation, including through a mass movement for LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment as a key to combating climate change. 

  

India’s Low-Emissions Development Transitions (LT-LEDS) rests on seven key transitions to low-carbon development pathways. These transitions to low-carbon development pathways have already been initiated through various significant and specific policies, programmes, and initiatives. 

The Ministry says  that its low carbon development of electricity systems consistent with development Growth in the electricity sector is critical for enabling industrial expansion, enhanced employment and incomes, and achievement of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self Reliant India). 

Low carbon options are to be assessed in the context of inclusive growth and expansion needed in the sector. 

• Expanding renewables and strengthening the grid

• Exploring and/or supporting other low carbon technologies

• Focusing on demand-side management 

• Rational utilization of fossil fuel resources, with due regard to energy security 

• Assessing enablers for low carbon development 

• Determining green taxonomy and optimum energy mix (complementing national development scenarios)

As far as the transport segment is concerned, a major contributor to GDP directly or indirectly (10%), its low carbon options have to factor in the burgeoning need for passenger and freight mobility to meet the needs of 1.4 billion populace. Emissions from the transportation sector are mainly driven by fossil fuel consumption in the road sector, even as vehicle ownership in India is far below the world average and much below the levels of other developed and emerging economies. The road transport sector accounts for about 87% of passenger traffic and 60% of freight traffic movement in the country and sustainable development of this sector is a critical element in India’s long-term development strategy. 

 India is assiduously focused on:

• Encouraging improved fuel efficiency 

• Phased transition to cleaner fuels 

• Modal shift towards public and less polluting modes of transport

• Electrification across multiple modes 

• Demand side management 

• Traffic management and intelligent transport systems 

All said and done, india's current growth and transport sector trends indicate the on-road freight segment is likely to be a significant driver of transport emissions in the long-term in a business-as usual scenario. 

Emissions from heavy duty vehicles would account for the majority of such emissions. Addressing both passenger and freight transport will therefore be an important goal for India’s low-carbon development.

So, the government's indicative 2025 targets are:

* 20% ethanol blending in petrol, with a savings potential of approximately INR 30,000 crore/year. (US$1 = INR 85)

• Leapfrogging Bharat Stage V emissions to directly reach Bharat Stage VI emissions. 

• Comprehensive package for electric vehicles, including domestic manufacturing in auto parts and batteries, investments in charging infrastructure and demand aggregation. 

• Indian Railways to become net-zero by 2030, leading to annual mitigation of 60 million tonnes of CO2 . 

• Multiple policies to enhance the share of public, non-motorized transport. 

• A National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity – PM Gati Shakti. 

• Integrated and optimized freight networks through programmes such as Gati Shakti, Transit-oriented development, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, and dedicated rail freight corridors. 

• National Logistic Policy aspires to reduce cost of logistics in India to be comparable to global benchmarks by 2030. 

Elements of a Long-Term Low-Carbon Growth Strategy 

1. Reducing fuel demand and GHG emissions through improved fuel efficiency: India will achieve this through raised standards, optimized networks, improved technologies, and fleet modernization. 

2. Phased adoption of cleaner fuels: There will be continuation of a gradually increased blending of cleaner fuels while managing socio-economic and development of the skilling aspects required for the same. Hydrogen will be used as an energy carrier and alternate fuel in the transportation sector. 

3. Modal shift towards public and less polluting modes of transport: India will seek to integrate transport with urban planning, multi-modal connectivity, and enhanced railway capacity. 

4. Electrification across multiple modes: A comprehensive package of programmes, policies, and measures for the domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries and the electrification of railways will be taken up. 

Who's is this Bruce Lee fan?

 

He's no black-belter, though a big fan of Bruce Lee. 

Like the rest of 1956-borners, he too idolized the karate king. 

The year: 1973. Enter The Dragon was the rage in those days of single-screen culture. 

Posing with Karate stick was an adrenalin-pumping chore. You don't have to be a karate kid to handle one to pose for photo opportunity. Karate sticks are known as Nunchucks, a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end with a short chain or cord/rope.

Our man under the radar for the next episode of ON THE OTHER SIDE blog series coming soon caught hold of one nunchucks while in college. 

He penned his maiden poem in Hindi in class 4 and continued to pour his heart out both in Hindi and English as he grew.

In class 8, he switched to English medium after spending a few months and invested in books in Hindi when he realized he could not pursue his chosen engineering career if he were to continue his dalliance with his mother tongue: Hindi. 

Pulp fiction greats such as James Hadley Chase, Irving Wallace, and Harold Wilson kept him thrall in his impressionable youthful era. 

Guess who this transporter is?

COMING SOON  the second personality in the new "ON THE OTHER SIDE" series. 

Watch out

MEANWHILE, check out the inaugural ON THE OTHER SIDE series personality.

Limited Choices & Dwindling Customer Delight

 

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

The era of choice for anything and everything at the lowest price point is coming to an end, maybe. Thanks to the Covid-induced supply chain disruption. Customer delight, as we comprehend, is evaporating, courtesy of the outsourcing manufacturing model.

Transportation cost — be it air, road, rail, or sea — is the most significant dampener. Port congestion, paucity of truck drivers, to be specific, have a significant impact on keeping the price point lower. In addition, the significant dependence on China for goods — both consumer and industrial — is spooky. What was touted as the most considerable advantage once upon a time, viz., China, as the world’s manufacturing hub, is turning into a Frankenstein?

All said and done, the sea route is the cheapest even now on a comparative basis vis-a-vis cargo movement by air. But the difference has narrowed down. Any day, a cargo vessel capacity by sea is humungous compared to cargo planes. As a result, the per-unit cost of any item moved goes up. Over the past two years, the cost of a 40-feet container zoomed by 12 times (see graph). Reason: the demand-supply mismatch.

Container vessels are waiting for berths at ports in a long queue. Those who have managed to find a berth face labor and equipment shortages; by the way, not all cranes are deployed, and those working are not functional 24x7 due to Covid. The Covid fear coupled with the unemployment insurance by governments is keeping the port workers at home. After all, health is wealth.

Assuming containers are unloaded, the movement by trucks poses the following challenge due to the lack of drivers. Trucks can’t move on their own. So supermarkets/Hypermarkets catering to the consumers are offering astronomical wages for truck drivers to move stuff from shipyards to their respective warehouses so their shelves will not remain empty and their business can go on.

Bear in mind that at every level, there is a higher payout: higher container charges, port handling charges, trucking rates, driver rates, and whatnot. Who is going to bear the cost? Pass on is the route. There is no other option.

On the other hand, producers, sensing the logistical challenges, are trimming their production matrix to ensure only selected items are produced. There is less challenge in the entire value chain of procurement, production, and distribution to that extent. In the bargain, the choice for consumers gets truncated. And, the delight too.

Just not the choice. Even price pressure very much raises its ugly head. Rising price levels or inflation is inevitable. Containing inflation through monetary policy initiatives would drive up the cost of borrowing and thus affect investment. As it is, investment is not happening. Public pronouncements do not automatically translate into the actual fund flow, which takes time pending formality completion Paperwork. Fiscal measures to stimulate the economy cannot go on forever. When to stop is keeping the central bankers and rulers in a tight spot. Tapering is the mantra they are chanting.

Consumer delight, in the absence of choice and lower price tag, is history. Until the advent of covid, none heard or worried about the ubiquitous supply chain. Today, it is on the lips of all: haves and have-nots equally.

Well, the drama is not over. The covid has not been tamed totally. Vaccination hesitancy is still ruling the roost in several parts of the world, and therefore, the pandemic persists, claiming lives or affecting productivity through workforce shortage at several production sites.

Will normalcy return as was experienced in the pre-Covid times? There are no clear answers. Instead, we hear of another catch-phrase: new normal. Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the crisis will linger for the next 3–4 years. Does it mean the world is inching towards de-globalization and trying to reduce its collective dependence on the Land of Dragon? The desire is there, but the actual task is the timeline. Doable, yes. How soon is the question? Well, that’s another story.

The Man from Mulund or Milan?

He’s tall. Handsome. No wonder Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra once told him onstage that the transport industry’s gain is the fashion industry’s loss. That eye-candy, Chirag Katira was. Young and snappy. The word “debonair” fits him to the T: confident, stylish, and charming. One can add more quality to this list: daring.

The six-foot-something second-generation fleet owning transporter, weighing 79 kilos, was born (February 28, 1990) four days after Amitabh Bachchan’s superhit Agneepath release in Mumbai. This scion of the original Kutchi khandaan smashes away the conventional image of Indian transporter viz., low profile, shy, and less cosmopolitan. He is different, as Pankaj Kapoor used to tell Jaaved Jaffrey in the classic Maggi Hot & Sour Tomato Chilli Sauce TV commercial in the 1990s!

Two images of this non-graduate caught my attention: one of him posing somewhere in the Mediterranian with two wine bottles in hand in a hairless chest-revealing jazzy shirt. Bubbly with the unseen sparkling spirit in both hands on a bobbing boat deck, he was. His honeymoon trip, yes it was. Another is several visuals of this gangly young scion of Shree Nasik Goods Transport Co Private Limited toying with venomous snakes of various sizes and hues with no trepidation. In his teens, perhaps. “Me, animal lover,” he avers over the phone from Mumbai.

I called and asked: Is he ready for a reveal-all, non-business chat for a monogram? He greenlighted without batting an eyelid.

“I am a back-bencher always and passed out with 37% and college was never in my radar,” opens up Chirag. He pilfered Four Square cigarettes and sometimes a few rupees for chilling out with friends from his father. Later, he would give up smoking, like his dad. He is spiritual yes, religious not; and a vipassana practitioner with regular visits to Igatpuri.

Singer? The bathroom type in Hindi songs mostly. Kirtan is something he loves. One can hear some soft instrumental in the background while we converse. Owns an Audi RS 7 but cherishes Wagon R due to parking challenges in Mumbai. He still had the Chevrolet Cruise dad gifted in 2011. Yet, he loves cycling and does 6–7km daily with his foldable Rs..26,000 non-motorized two-wheelers.

But for the ice-cream outing with his fashion-designer biwi Rivina to Powai post-dinner some times in Audi or his wife’s Ciaz, he rarely gets a chance to drive office-hardly 200metre away from home in the Mumbai suburb. He’s chauffeur-driven.

Khichdi is this pure vegetarian’s favorite dish. Not even eggs. He imbibes strawberry or chocolate-flavored ice-creams out of love for his wife at Powai parlors or craving pav bhaji at Bade Miyan, Colaba. Strange for a perpetual sweety-toothed Gujarati. Green vegetables, no-no. “I can make pav bhaji!,” boasts the Sanjay Dutt fan and his favorite ghana: you’ve guessed it right, “Nayak mein hoon, kal nayak nahi”! What’s his dial tone? None.

Birthday celebrations are always held at his family bungalow in Nashik in the company of his cousins: half a dozen, at the last count. The Mumbai-Nasik stretch (NH3) is his regular long track. Sure, these parties “spirited” for Chirag, who had begun with Rs.100 bottled beer when his pocket money did not exceed Rs.700 a month in his high school days. Wine and vodka are okay but always in moderation. Does he smoke? Once or twice a month. Not a regular type, courtesy biwi pressure!

Is he single and ready to mingle? A stupid question. Ravina already snatched him on labor day, May 1, May 2018. Anything special about marrying on May Day? “Several family weddings had happened on May 1May 1. Me too,” he tells me. So, where did he escort his biwi for his honeymoon?

“Twenty eight days, we were on a road trip covering 2200km from Spain to Portugal,” he informs. Switzerland, Portugal, and Thailand are other destinations he had spent time on. Does he dance? “After two pegs!” pat comes the reply. I forgot to ask him whether Ravina designs his wardrobe too. Never mind, there is always the next time when we meet in person.

By the way, his wardrobe gets refilled every two years. Raymond’s suitings only. No readymade. Bespoken always. White and light blue as business-wear and sab-kuch for casual-wear. Twenty pairs of shoes — from Hush Puppies to Prada, a gift from his sweetheart! — occupy his footwear rack.

Rarely have I come across transporters sporting unique hairstyles. Chirag is an exception. Is it a short spiky hairstyle, with hair brushed to one side, spiked using a quality gel, and parted neatly to look clean and cool? Or is blown black, wherein the hair is blown, combed back with the sides parted and fading into the region just around the ears? Or is it the undercut tapers with fade, one of the latest and popular hairstyles? The hair on the top is styled with pomp, and the sides undercut and fade to make men look masculine? Does his hairstyle attract extra attention when he walks into business meetings in the company of more sedate and elderly colleagues? Diplomatically he answers with a silent smile.

What’s a man with Chirag’s panache without body markings? I mean, tattoos. At the last count, there were 26, he confirms. This tryst with tattoos began at the age of 17.

King of the forest, the lion, and the clever wolf occupy his chest. Why? Because “they work in groups, never solo. I come from a joint family,” reasons the Piscean. Unity is strength, no doubt. The universal five elements are etched on his back as a crown. I wonder whether any part of his body that is not tatoo-ed?

Nothing is permanent, and everything passes, he philosophizes. Aggressive like lions. Clever like wolves. Grounded yet with belief in ancient wisdom. Modern, yet, a believer in panch bhuta: water, fire, earth, air, and akasha. Unique cocktail.

Oh, man! Anand Mahindra was spot on. Chirag ought to be in Milan, the fashionistas’ den, not Mulund, the dour Mumbai suburb!

—

DEAR READERS,

You will agree that it is tough to capture the entire essence of any personality in an 800-word blog. Luckily, the subject (Chirag Katira) has shared a shipload of input of enormous interest. Keeping this in mind, we will be bringing a Monogram on him with more exciting details. This Monogram will be released on February 28, 2022, coinciding with his birthday. Stay tuned. — Konsultramesh

Wanted: Prashant Kishor!

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

Within hours after Mumbai-based fleet owning, the second generation transporter Ashok Goyal of BLR Logistics tweeted questioning the stone-deaf silence of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre by not listening to their genuine grievances, the Prime Minister was in confabulation with the transport lobby group: the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and the All India Transporters' Welfare Association (AITWA). Coincidence? Sheer luck? Whatever. A moment to cherish for transport fraternity.

A small clarification. This was not an exclusive gathering between these two lobby groups and the Chief Executive of the Republic of India. They were part of various stakeholders invited by the Logistics Division in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry government to discuss ways and means to achieve the US$400bn export target this fiscal (before March 31, 2022). 

Obviously, the task of cutting logistics cost hinges to an extent on transport vertical. Therefore, the invite. Products can be manufactured for export. Ships may sail from ports for far off destinations. But these forex-fetching products have to be carted to the ports. Rail is certainly a possibility. But limited in scope. Road Transport, for long or short or first mile or last mile, is inevitable. There lies the rationale behind the invite to transport bodies. 

Punch pleased, they  would have been. Recognition is a big thing for anyone. Particularly, those who feel they have been alienated or sidelined for long.  

Both were in their respective dens: Delhi for AIMTC and Mumbai for AITWA and the interaction was via video-conferencing. Remote interaction, courtesy Covid. 

Had this PM interaction with stakeholders been arranged well in advance and, notably, in the pre-Covid era, will these two groups have sat together in a single venue? I doubt. 

A bit of history worth recalling...

AIMTC has a long history, dating back to its origin in the Pre-Independence era when transporters gathered on the Mall Road in Simla, Himachal, the summer capital for Her Majesty's babus managing India to represent their case to the authorities.   The body was created on the spot because the British babu refused to entertain them individually and asked them to "represent collectively".  AITWA, on the other hand, is an offshoot of AIMTC, born several decades  later to include several stakeholders in the transport segment whose interests, it felt, were not articulated and taken up for discussion with policymakers. 

By the by, AITWA members are also AIMTC members, the Big Brother.  They are not on the same page in many areas and therefore, lacks coordination in their dealings with the mandarins in the Indian bureaucracy at the Federal level. 

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Drivers' health is a serious issue. 

Their number is in the millions. So a huge target group. Stakeholders engage in perfunctory health checks via periodic camps. The seriousness of drivers' health by the interested parties can be gauged from the fact 99% of the trucks carry no First Aid Box, though it is a punishable offense under the CMVR norms! Who cares!  .....

Read More

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Indian babus learned one big lesson from their British master tutors. Divide and rule. Taking advantage of the AIMTC-AITWA difference in their approach to problem-solving, the govt plays and challenges are seldom addressed. One key differentiator between these two: AIMTC does not rule out chakka jam/work stoppage during every President's term to highlight their concerns. AITWA is on the opposite side. It abhors strikes and prefers discussions over disruption. 

The laundry list of transport segment woes is long. Highways and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the line minister, has rebuffed the transport lobby through his non-interaction with them throughout Covid. However, he had ample time for various other stakeholders. That's the clear message that he has no love lost for the transport fraternity. Why? Worth pondering.

Is the multiplicity of lobby groups a disadvantage? It ought not to be. Look at the industry lobby groups: FICCI, Assocham, and CII at the national level. These lobbyists are never at loggerheads with each other - openly or otherwise. Perhaps this has got to do with their organizational setup. Professionals, not industrialists/businessmen members, "run" these organizations. The transport lobby groups offer a different glimpse. 

"Unity is strength" is the slogan transporters mouth quite often. Do they practice? No. Their common target: the government from the policy perspective. If they can present a combined front and approach the government as a single body with well-documented data, will they be heard? It is worth considering. 

Take, for instance, the parallel on the political front. The Opposition has a single target: the Narendra Modi government. Are they not "exploring" a combined political front to take Modi head-on? 

Keeping the General Elections 2024, political parties, pursuing diverse ideologies, are confabulating a joint Opposition. Prashant Kishor, the independent political strategy with a track record in helping Modi in 2014 and Mamata Banerjee this year to win the political battle, is again on center stage. 

He may be the glue to "unite" the Opposition and that will be a formidable political battle vis-a-vis the Modi government in 2024. 

Well, is there a Prashant Kishor lurking to unite the transport lobby groups: especially AIMTC and AITWA, and ensure the likes of Gadkari begin to display some "respect" and "listen" to them directly? 

"Yes, that would be a welcome step!," concedes Ashok Goyal. 

How good exosuits are inside warehouses?

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

The invasion of technology in everyday life is inevitable, notwithstanding rising concerns over humans surrendering their freedom and turn into the unique "useless class" as described by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari.

On the logistics front, particularly in the distribution arena, Amazon needs to be credited for being the Big Elephant that created a storm over the inhuman treatment of the workforce at its fulfillment centers - a critical wing of logistics. Zillions of words have been written on this issue with Amazon's focus. That's on one side.

Fatigue and the resultant accidents inside fulfillment centers are part and parcel of warehouses. Amazon has a dubious distinction on this score. Lifting, carrying from shelves to the conveyor belts, or loading and unloading at the docks warrant heavy physical activity and much of these chores can be automated. That's what Amazon implementing most successfully. Otherwise, it would not be the cynosure of all eyes across the world where it is the byword for superfast service and in the bargain made a killing during the Covid era when the entire world is in shutdown mode, thus compelling the seven billion populace in every part of the world to opt for online purchase of everything including the essentials. 

Such happenings create new business opportunities. Can these challenges be tackled using technology? Well, it is happening. A Netherlands-based company has stepped in with exosuits. Warehouse workers strap these suits to "help ease the strain of lifting heavy boxes all day" reports the Wall Street Journal.  (suibscription required)

A lot of research in biomechanics is happening. "Our long-term goal is to create a portable wearable robot that assists the wearer during walking and can reduce their metabolic expenditure compared to regular walking. To work toward these goals, we have proposed a new paradigm in assistive device design which we call soft clothing-like "exosuits", write .... Alan Asbeck, Stefano De Rossi, Ignacio Galiana, Ye Deng, and Conor J Walsh, members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in a paper submitted to Harvard Biodesign Lab (HBL) whose tagline reads, "Augmenting and restoring human performance". 

 According to these research scholars, these devices use textiles to interface to the body, and apply joint torques via tensile forces over the outside of the body n parallel with the muscles, utilizing the bone structure to support compressive loads.

HBL claims exosuits enjoy several advantages: "the wearer's joints are unconstrained by external rigid structures, and the worn part of the suit is extremely light. These properties minimize the suit's unintentional interference with the body's natural biomechanics and allow for more synergistic interaction with the wearer.

Significantly, Ignacio Galiana is the CEO at Verve Motion that enabled ADUSA to roll out pilots. 

Verve Motion claims that its exosuits reduce strain by 30-40%. Certainly, these extra fittings will not eliminate the strain, fatigue, and therefore injuries at the workplace. The opinion is divided over the effectiveness of such technological equipment.

While there is extensive work on the analysis of the effects of wearing a soft exosuit on the kinematics, energetics, and muscular activation during walking [33], the authors are unaware of comparable studies on movements of the upper limbs, whose variety of volitional motions is fundamentally different from the rhythmic nature of walking, say researchers Michele Xiloyannis, Domenico Chiaradia, Antonio Frisoli and Lorenzo Masia in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.

Adds they: "Understanding how these devices affect the physiology and mechanics of human movements is fundamental for quantifying their benefits and drawbacks, assessing their suitability for different applications, and guiding a continuous data-driven design refinement."

Are these pieces of equipment, cosmetic or genuine? A long-term thorough study of workers using these exosuits is needed.