The oil and gas sector is pretty well developed in India, and contributes a large share to India’s energy basket and will be doing the same for the next 15–20 years. Oil and gas is a major part of the energy sector, which is essential for the growth of the manufacturing, utilities, infrastructure and commercial services industries. An estimated 7 per cent growth in the Indian economy is expected to approximately double India’s per capita energy consumption over the next 20 years. Since there is a link between energy demand and economic growth, the Indian oil and gas sector, which provides the country with a significant portion of its energy requirements, is a key metric that will drive future GDP growth. The future opportunities for the sector include assessing the feasibility of using non-conventional fuels such as coal bed methane, hydrogen and biodiesel. The sector must lay greater focus on developing midstream infrastructure, with specific attention on city gas distribution networks, and the construction of strategic storage facilities as a safeguard against short term disruptions in fuel supply. The government is constructing a total capacity of 15 million metric tons(MMT) in the form of strategic storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products. As such this can be used as an emergency mechanism in the case of short term disruptions in fuel supply. In the first phase, the construction of the 5 MMT storage space has been started simultaneously at Vishakapatnam (1.3 MMT), Mangalore (1.5MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT).

Theproposed storage structure is expected to bcome underground. Effectively capitalising upon potential opportunities, clubbed with the increasing demand for natural gas, favourable government policies, large scale investments and the recent discovery offshore gas reserves are expected to fuel strong growth in the Indian oil and gas sector . State-run oil and gas companies in India must form partnerships or joint ventures with foreign players so as to effectively use the technology and monetary resources for ultradeep water exploration, which can yield significant results. Currently, Indian companies are only equipped with the technology that helps in exploring on land, or in shallow basins. The Indian oil and gas industry has been providing significant opportunities in the development of midstream infrastructure, with expected capacity addition of 6,000–8,000 km pipeline to the National gas grid in different parts of the country. Apart from this, the gas distribution network is not developed in most parts of the country except in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. This particularly offers alternative fuel in the vehicular segment, which offers a 20 per cent cost benefit over diesel.

Future Leaders, and women in logistics and Transport are going to be at the guts of our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland hosted, International Centenary Convention 2019.

Delegates can get pleasure from an exciting 3 day programme as well as guest international speakers, workshop and interactive sessions, the women in logistics and Transport (WiLAT) conference, the Young Professionals Conference, and opportunities to be concerned in shaping the long run of our Institute and our trade.

For more details please visit CILT International website : Click Here

The 6th China International logistics Development Conference can happen in Shijiazhuang from 17 – 18 October 2019.

For more details please visit CILT International website : Click Here

The Air Transport industry is undoubtedly an important element of national and global economies. Air cargo industry in India has an important role in the nation’s trade and economy because of its significant contribution to the economic prosperity and well-being of the country. Transporting goods via air except perishable or sensitive products was once costly affair for the businesses to afford infrequent basis but due to the recent forces of globalization, liberalisation, privatisation and cut-throat competition among the companies have changed the face of global logistics and supply chain management throughout the world.

In today’s competitive environment, efficient logistics planning and managing supply chain in a most cost-efficient manner such as initiating JIT (just-in-time) production and distribution approach that enables companies to reduce inventory carrying cost, are among the key factors for company’s success and existence in local and international market and which in turn have made air cargo the most lucrative option than other mode of cargo transportation . India is the the largest submarket in Southwest Asia, comprising about 63% of international flows in the region, and it possesses a vibrant domestic market as well. India‘s air cargo business is having muchmore potential in revenue generation than passenger business butstill, the air cargo market is untapped. Statistics indicate thatairlines spend more than 75% on transporting passengers, while only25% is spent on cargo. According to the Airport Authority of India, the total cargo volume is expected to increase by 11.5% from 2007-08to 2011-12, international cargo traffic expected to increase 12.1% of car and domestic cargo by 10.1% during the same period.

However, the rising fuel cost is one of the major concerns which can dampen the growth as fuel accounts for 20-30% of the operating cost. To handle the variety and complexity of managerial forecasting problems multiple forecasting techniques have been developed. These econometric modelling, judgmental analysis, trend analysis and potential analysis are considered useful to provide a forecast. Econometric modelling helps to determine the overall importance of the economic factors like GDP, trade, fuel price etc. and enables forecasts to be linked to expectations for those factors. TheJudgmental modifications often account for expected changes in non-econometric growth factors like trade quotas, services agreement sets etc. A simple trend analysis is used to evaluate changesin economic factors. This is useful in evaluating general changes inthe marketplace that can be attributed to the combined effects of anumber of factors. The potential analysis is useful, particularly forforecasting markets in their early stages of development. Air cargofacilitates transporting goods much faster from one multiple linearregression analysis has shown GDP and trades are having a positiveimpact on the growth of air cargo whereas fuel price is havingsignificant negative relation. As per the calculations, the cargogrowth will be more than that of GDP growth. Several forecastingmethods are applied along with the proposed econometric model withmultiple variables and single variable with time to compare theirpredictive ability and fitting effect with respect to actual valuepart of the world to another and consequently initiates internationalbusiness to grow and expand quickly than another mode of transportation. The simple generalized forecasting methods help topredict air cargo demand of any country and eventually helps inmaking strategies to boost the predicted growth.

The excessive pressure and an ever-increasing demand to optimize the logistics management systems and operations and to improve connectivity, including digital connectivity, maritime shipping has become highly dependent on computerized systems and information and communications technology. Similar to other industry sectors that rely on such technology, computer systems on board vessels or marine facilities face the same risk of cyber attacks, including through hacking, malware, viruses, worms and denials of service, among others, and these can originate from hackers and criminals anywhere in the world. Cyber attacks are most likely to first target vulnerabilities along with a supply chain, including negligent users, wireless access points and removable media devices. Unauthorized usage of data or systems by authorized persons, such as ship or platform crew, can also have significant negative impacts.

Cybersecurity-relatedincidents may also arise from extreme weather events, includingclimate change-related events, which pose significant risks toindividuals and businesses, including ships and in ports and marinefacilities. In such circumstances, security measures need to be inplace to ensure that even in the event of partial or totaldestruction of facilities, data is secure and systems can resumeoperations as soon as possible. The illegal usage and/or failure ofinformation technology systems on board ships may disrupt the safenavigation and propulsion. Similarly, cyber attacks on other systemsand technologies used for container terminal operations and cargohandling, including inventory and container tracking systems, cancause significant disruptions to such operations. The offshorestability and the positioning of the offshore supply vessels can beequally vulnerable to cybersecurity-related impacts, either by modernpirates and smugglers through non-targeted malware, insider threatsand functions performed at the wrong time or under the wrongconditions. All such attacks have safety and security issue, withpotentially serious impacts on human life, the environment and theeconomy. Other cyber attacks may be aimed at stealing information, such as sensitive company data, which includes production and processing techniques or strategies for negotiating with trading partners. Along with the economic effect on companies directlyinvolved, such attacks may lead to national security, wider financialand other implications. Potential consequences and costs ofdisruptions from malicious cyber attacks have been compared to those caused by past major incidents involving the maritime transportsector. Cybersecurity is often considered as a technical issue forinformation technology specialists, which does not directly involveothers. In addition, risk assessments and management appear to focusprimarily on physical security in ships and ports, with inadequateattention to cyber security and the sharing of informationon mitigating cybersecurity threats. Inadequate awareness among key stakeholders, including Governments, port authorities, shipping companies and telecommunications providers, of the security challenges, vulnerabilities and threats specific to this sector, was considered one of the main causes of this situation. Other problemsthat were identified were the complexity of the maritime informationand communications technology environment and the fragmentation ofgovernance at different levels, whether international, regionalnational.