CARGOCONNECT-MARCH2024 - Flipbook - Page 75
N EWS
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar foresees
digitalisation boom led by AI
T
he government will come
out with a draft regulatory
framework for arti昀椀cial
intelligence (AI) by June-July, said
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union
Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology
(E&IT).
Addressing the opening session of the recently
held two-day Nasscom
leadership summit in
Mumbai, the minister said,
“The government is working on a draft AI regulation
framework that is set for
release in June or July this
year. The intention is to
harness AI for economic
growth and address potential
risks and harms.”
“We will fully exploit the
potential of AI to build AI-skilled
individuals, but also set up the
guardrails as well to prevent
misuse. We are today seen by
the world at the forefront to
Agri exports clock record
US$26.7 billion in FY2022-23
T
he Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has
taken agricultural exports to
a remarkable 昀椀gure of US$26.7
billion in the 昀椀scal year 202223. This exponential growth
is underscored by expanding
the export basket to over 200
countries, showcasing a commendable Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12%,
the Union Ministry of Commerce
& Industry said.
In the fiscal period 202223, India's agricultural exports
reached US$53.1 billion, with
APEDA contributing a signi昀椀cant
51% of India’s agri exports. In
the period April-December 2023,
among the 23 principal commodities in APEDA's export basket,
18 exhibited positive growth.
Notably, 13 out of 15 large PCs,
with exports exceeding US$100
million in the previous year,
harness AI technology. We are
all for deploying AI across use
cases, from farms to factories and
we want to use AI for economic
growth,” the minister said.
“Given the ubiquitous and
boundary-agnostic nature of the
Internet and AI, it is important
that there is a global governance
framework that deals with safety
and trust of AI,” Chandrasekhar
said. The government has
been planning to release an AI
regulation framework for a long
time now. Even in May 2023,
Chandrasekhar had shared plans
to release the 昀椀rst draft of the
framework. However, the same
is yet to be released.
experienced positive growth,
with an average growth rate of
12%, it said.
Fresh fruits emerged as a
standout performer, registering a remarkable growth of
29%. Moreover, the export of
processed vegetables surged
by 24% in the period followed
by miscellaneous processed
items. Fresh vegetables also saw
substantial growth compared to
the corresponding period last
year. Notably, India has signi昀椀cantly expanded its fresh fruits
export footprint, now serving
111 countries compared to 102
destinations in the previous year.
During the period from April
to December 2023, the quantity
of exports witnessed a notable
growth of 11%, increasing from
31.98 lakh metric tonnes to 35.43
lakh metric tonnes.
New GIX service to enhance India-Gulf connectivity
S
eaLead and Blue Water
Line will launch a new
Gulf India Express (GIX)
container service, aiming
to enhance the trade routes
between India and the Gulf
region. Each company will deploy
one vessel on the service, which
is expected to provide a reliable
and e昀케cient weekly rotation connecting the key ports of Mundra,
Nhava Sheva, Sohar, Jebel Ali,
Dammam, and returning to
Mundra.
The inaugural voyage of the
MV Taichung departed Jebel Ali
on February 22, 2024 and was
be followed by Abrao Cochin on
February 29 from Jebel Ali. The
introduction of the GIX service
is seen as a strategic initiative,
aligning with the goals of India
and Saudi Arabia to double their
bilateral trade to US$100 billion
in the coming years from the
current level of approximately
US$52 billion.
Om Logistics
expands footprint in
Chennai with a
state-of-the-art
warehouse
Logistics recently
OnewMannounced
the launch of a
warehouse facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This strategic
move is aimed at elevating connectivity and solidifying the
company’s presence in the hub
state and southern region. The
state-of-the-art warehouse
facility, covering a floor area of
100,000 sq ft, is equipped with
advanced and sustainable features to enhance operational
efficiency and service quality.
The facility is designed to offer
top performance to keep pace
with growing customer demand
in the region with emphasis on
speed, on-time delivery, and
reliability in managing intricate
supply chain operations.
DigiReady
Certification portal
to empower MSMEs
Council of India
TDigitalhe(QCI)Quality
and Open Network for
Commerce (ONDC) have
jointly launched the DigiReady
Certification (DRC) portal that
aims to assess and certify digital readiness of MSME entities.
By leveraging this online selfassessment tool, MSMEs can
seamlessly onboard as sellers
on the ONDC platform and significantly expand their digital
capabilities to be able to successfully navigate the evolving
e-commerce business landscape. The certification process
evaluates various aspects of
digital readiness, including the
presence of necessary documentation for online operations,
proficiency in using software
and technology, integration with
existing digitised workflows,
and efficient management of
orders and catalogue offerings.
CARGOCONNECT MARCH 2024 | 75
