Investment in logistics to touch $500 bn by 2025: Prabhu
New Delhi, July 30 : Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday said investments in logistics and infrastructure will touch $500 billion by 2025 as the country becomes an attractive destination for manufacturing and services.
"Expenditure on investment in logistics, including infrastructure, will touch $500 billion, by 2025... this will create millions of jobs and also do away with the hurdles hampering India's internal and global trade," Prabhu said at an event here.
Prabhu said India, with initiatives like "Digital India, Make in India and Skill India", is now being looked upon as one of the most appropriate destinations for manufacturing and service locations by many of the foreign companies.
The minister further said the government has taken many measures to improve the trade performance through efficient and effective logistics including granting of infrastructure status to "warehousing, cold chains and multi-modal logistics parks".
"The measures include smoothening of the border and cross border documentation and activities, dedicated freight corridors, investments in port and other infrastructures, alignment of all business processes thus attempting to improve logistics performance of the country," he was quoted as saying in an official statement.
According to Prabhu, the ministry is working on a "National Logistics Policy" and another policy on the development of "Multi-modal Logistics Parks" to be announced soon.
A logistics wing has been created in the Department of Commerce for integrated development of the sector.
Prabhu was speaking at an event where the commerce department's logistics wing and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) singned an MoU for setting up a Centre for Trade Facilitation and Logistics Excellence (CTFL).
The Centre has been given a mandate to bring together industry, academia, governments and organizations of national and international level, to work on key supply chain and logistics and management challenges facing firms in the globalised environment.
Prabhu said the cost and speed of logistics at present is hindering the market share that Indian products deserve and CTFL will attempt to solve these issues. It will also train trade facilitation and logistics professionals and government officials concerned.
The minister also released the logo of logistics division. It is a graphic symbol representing a pair of swans known for their ability to travel long distances and are comfortable in the sky, water and on earth and represents team work between various partners in logistics.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
