The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) organized the seventh edition of its annual Shipping conclave with the help of senior representatives from the Government, Policymakers, Industry leaders, Researchers, etc. The focus of this year's conclave was on "Logistics in India - The Way Ahead".

The objective of this conclave was to highlight the Logistics scenario of India at present, particularly with respect to the movement of Exim Trade, as Shipping has always been a major part of the Supply Chain network of any country. The conclave had helped in formulating a 'Strategy' on 'The Way forward' for the Logistics Industry to ensure that it ultimately leads to a seamless movement of goods in the near future.

Capt S B Mazumder; Chairperson, Shipping Committee, BCC&I welcomed the inaugural speakers on the dais which comprised of Mr. Indrajit Sen; President, BCC&I (delivered the welcome speech at the Inaugural Session) Shri Pravir Pandey; IA&AS Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Ministry of Shipping; Shri Vinit Kumar; IRSEE Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India and Shri Amitava Sengupta; WBCS (Exe), Jt Secretary, Department of Transport, Government of West Bengal and Additional Director, Kolkata Zone, Directorate of Transport, Government of West Bengal.

The other key speakers were Shri S A Rahman, IRTS, Group General Manager (GGM - C&O) - Eastern Region, Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR), Shri C V Prasad, Member - Finance, Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Shri Anil Kumar Gupta, Director - Works, Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited (IPRCL), A Government of India Enterprise, Shri Santosh K Mohapatra, Former Chairman,Paradip Port Trust and Former Chief Executive Officer, Dhamra Port, Ms. Vinita Venkatesh, Director, Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal Private Limited (KPCT Pvt Ltd), Ms. Surekha Bihani, Managing Director, Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) Property Consultant (India) Pvt Ltd, Kolkata and Shri Arup Das, Deputy General Manager (Institutional Business), WBSO and GST Co-ordinator - Institutional Business, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), etc.

The Conclave brought together senior government officials, port users, trade representatives, industry representatives, policy makers, researchers and academicians and altogether the total no of delegates present at the conclave were 150 approx.

The conclave was an eye-opener for those in the EXIM trade, the Ship owners/charterers, the Shipping lines/agents, the CHA's, the Port users, the Freight forwarders, the logistics providers, etc as they had a clear understanding of the present Logistics scenario of India, particularly the maritime logistics and to what are the measures could be taken to improve the logistics sector of our country for seamless movement of goods in the near future.

Overall the Conclave provided the way forward on developments and investments in the Logistics Sector to enable smooth and regular flow of goods at very less Logistics Costs in the near future.