India needs to invest substantially on creating multimodal infrastructure

Subject: Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

India needs good multimodal infrastructure to handle major transport modes — air, rail, road, and waterways.

Multimodal Infrastructure:

Multimodal infrastructure involves the end-to-end movement of international goods by more than one mode of transport, using a single document.
It is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different modes of transport; the carrier is liable (in a legal sense) for the entire carriage, even though it is performed by several different modes of transport (by rail, sea and road, for example).
The carrier does not have to possess all the means of transport, and in practice usually does not; the carriage is often performed by sub-carriers (referred to in legal language as “actual carriers”). The carrier responsible for the entire carriage is referred to as a multimodal transport operator, or MTO.
For example, the world’s pharma capital Basel in Switzerland.
- Basel is well connected to the Antwerp port via rail, road or barge.
- Seamless multimodal transport is possible due to exchange of messages and data among all the terminals.
In India, Nhava Sheva or Panvel in Mumbai has the potential to become a major multimodal terminal with the region being a heavy cargo hub.
The Chennai-Bengaluru corridor could be a multimodal hub.

UN Convention on Multimodal transportation:

Article 1.1. of the United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods (Geneva, 24 May 1980) (which will only enter into force 12 months after 30 countries ratify; as of May 2019, only 6 countries have ratified the treaty) defines multimodal transport as follows: “‘International multimodal transport’ means the carriage of goods by at least two different modes of transport on the basis of a multimodal transport contract from a place in one country at which the goods are taken in charge by the multimodal transport operator to a place designated for delivery situated in a different country”.

Lack of options:

In India, there is a lack of multimodal options.
The size of the multimodal infrastructure in India is very small.
India’s spending on multimodal infrastructure should increase multifold to achieve the country’s vision of being a $10-trillion economy by 2030.

Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI):

AMTOI is registered as a non-profit making body under the Indian Companies Act and its core managing committee consists of seven members. The managing Committee is supplemented by Special Invitees who are experts in the industry.
HQ: Kurla, Mumbai, Maharashtra.