Multimodal logistics the coordinated use of multiple transport modes under a single logistics plan is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of India’s strategy to enhance supply chain efficiency and strengthen economic competitiveness. As the country continues to expand its manufacturing capacity and trade networks, the ability to seamlessly integrate road, rail, ports, and inland waterways is gaining importance.

In a geographically vast and diverse market like India, manufacturing hubs are often located far from major export gateways and consumer markets. This physical distance creates logistical challenges that can increase transportation costs and extend delivery timelines. Experts note that improving coordination between different transport modes is critical to overcoming these challenges and ensuring smoother movement of goods across the country.

Industry analysts say that multimodal logistics systems can significantly reduce transit times, optimize freight movement, and lower overall logistics costs. By allowing goods to move efficiently through interconnected transport networks, such systems also help businesses improve supply chain reliability and operational efficiency.

As India seeks to strengthen its position in global manufacturing and trade, the development of integrated logistics infrastructure is expected to play a crucial role in supporting domestic producers as well as exporters. Better connectivity between industrial clusters, logistics hubs, and ports can help unlock growth opportunities and enhance the competitiveness of Indian goods in international markets.

Arvind Devaraj, COO, NICDC Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDSL)

Why Multimodal Matters for India

India’s logistics costs have historically been higher than global averages due to fragmented transport modes and an overreliance on road freight. Integrating multiple modes such as rail and waterways with trucking helps utilise the cost and fuel efficiency of rail for long distances while retaining the flexibility of roads for first/last-mile delivery. This balance is vital for connecting hinterland production centres with ports and urban markets.

Digital Enablement Strengthening Multimodal Efficiency

Alongside physical infrastructure, digital integration is becoming a critical enabler of multimodal efficiency. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) facilitates secure, API-based data exchange across government systems and logistics stakeholders, enabling real-time visibility and interoperable coordination across transport modes.

The Logistics Data Bank (LDB) enhances container-level tracking across ports, ICDs, and rail networks, improving transparency in EXIM cargo movement and reducing uncertainty in intermodal transfers. Complementing this, the Track Your Transport (TYT) application supports vehicle and cargo visibility, compliance verification, and trip-level monitoring, strengthening first- and last-mile connectivity within multimodal chains.

Together, these digital interventions help reduce information asymmetry, improve planning accuracy, and support intelligence-led logistics management across interconnected transport networks.

Connecting Growth Markets with Export Gateways

For India’s growth markets including electronics, automotive, textiles, and perishables multimodal logistics bridges the gap between producers and global supply chains. By linking manufacturing clusters in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with major ports and inland logistics hubs, multimodal systems help reduce both transit time and inventory costs for exporters, making Indian products more competitive internationally.

Government Initiatives Supporting Integration

Policy measures have played an important role in scaling multimodal logistics in India. The National Logistics Policy (NLP) and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan aim to unify planning across ministries and projects, creating digital infrastructure and physical connectivity to support multimodal operations. The development of Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) is central to this vision, bringing rail, road, and ports into shared hubs with tracking and handling facilities designed to streamline freight movement.

Benefits for Regional and Small-Scale Markets

Efficient multimodal logistics can significantly benefit regional and smaller markets that are otherwise cost-constrained. By reducing reliance on costly long-haul trucking and encouraging rail and waterways usage, producers in interior regions gain better access to national and international markets at competitive freight rates, improving profitability and spurring local economic growth.

Challenges on the Path to Seamless Integration

Despite progress, multimodal logistics in India faces persistent challenges. Infrastructure bottlenecks such as port congestion, limited inland waterway capacity, and uneven intermodal terminals constrain seamless transfers. Regulatory complexity across agencies and states also adds to delays and costs, and uneven technology adoption among smaller operators hinders real-time visibility and coordination. Addressing these hurdles is essential to fully realise the potential of multimodal networks.

A Strategic Lever for Sustainability and Growth

Beyond economic efficiency, multimodal logistics supports sustainability goals by enabling a shift away from carbon-intensive road freight towards greener alternatives like rail and waterways. This transition is critical for India’s commitments to reduce emissions and build resilient supply chains. Furthermore, smarter modal integration can help reduce urban congestion and create more predictable transit times, benefiting industries and consumers alike.

Conclusion
Multimodal logistics holds the promise of transforming India’s logistics landscape by bridging the efficiency gap between its growth markets and the broader economy. Through strategic infrastructure development, policy harmonisation, and technology adoption, India can reduce logistics costs, enhance connectivity, and strengthen its role in global supply chains. However, sustained focus on addressing structural bottlenecks from regulatory simplification to last-mile connectivity will be crucial to ensure that multimodal logistics not only bridges gaps on paper but delivers measurable gains on the ground.

Rodic Consultants, a leading engineering and digital infrastructure consulting company, has received the prestigious Great Place to Work® Certification 2026 by the Great Place to Work® Institute. The certification, based entirely on employee sentiment, experience, and feedback, reflects that 87% of Rodic employees confirmed it is a great place to work, significantly above the average for Indian workplaces.
 

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviours proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. The certification is awarded to organizations that meet rigorous standards in trust, respect, credibility, fairness, and pride as reported by employees.
 

“Earning the Great Place To Work Certification™ is a milestone that reflects our unwavering dedication to establishing a gold standard in employee practices,” said the Aayush Raj, Chief of Staff at Rodic Consultants.
 

“We have always believed that exceptional work emerges from environments where people feel valued, heard, and supported. This recognition validates our commitment to best employee practices not as policies on paper, but as lived experiences. When employees tell us they feel respected, when they say leadership is accessible, when they confirm that fairness is not just promised but practiced, that’s when we know we are building something meaningful. For Rodic, this certification is a commitment to continue evolving a workplace where every individual is empowered to realize their full potential,” added Aayush.
 

Reinforcing its commitment to performance-driven workplace culture, Rodic is strengthening its people strategy in line with its AI-first vision through accelerated upskilling initiatives. A cornerstone of this commitment is the Rodic AI Challenge, which encourages employees to develop AI-driven solutions for infrastructure challenges from predictive maintenance algorithms to project management optimization tools. These initiatives reflect Rodic’s commitment to continuous learning, digital transformation, and empowering its people to lead change in an increasingly technology-driven infrastructure sector.
 

Over the last 25 years, Rodic has continuously focused on employee engagement through programs including the Rodic Balance initiative, which incorporates sports and wellness programs, learning and development opportunities, transparent communication channels, and comprehensive health benefits fostering a workplace built on trust, collaboration, and employee empowerment.

Cashfree Payments, India’s leading payments platform, has launched its latest brand campaign, ‘One of Your Kind’ – celebrating the one-of-a-kind journeys of the category-shaping businesses it powers.

The campaign features companies such as BigBasket, Third Wave Coffee and Redbus, focusing on the different business realities across sectors

B2B fintech advertising has long addressed businesses as uniform friction points to be solved for. The campaign shifts this lens. When category disruptors across E-commerce, Travel, F&B, SaaS build against fundamentally different challenges – the payments infrastructure supporting them becomes a critical layer in navigating those realities.

Conceptualised by Talented and produced by At All Odds, ‘One of Your Kind’ spotlights the real ecosystems of people, hunger, and grit that shape every business’s journey to be unique – establishing Cashfree Payments as a payments gateway built around the distinct realities of each category it enables.

Aditi Olemann, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Cashfree Payments said, “Ten years. A million businesses. And the single most important thing we have learned is that businesses that shape markets are, without exception, one of a kind. Each arrived at the problem differently and built something entirely their own. When you have witnessed these journeys, you stop thinking about payments as a uniform layer, but as something that must adapt to unique business ambitions. The One of Your Kind campaign is our way of saying: we see you, not as a transaction category, but as a company that built something no else built, in a way no one else would have. And these businesses deserve payments that are built to be One of Your Kind.”

The film sidesteps corporate polish to showcase raw, lived-in growth journeys of Cashfree Payments’ long-standing partners, including BigBasket, Third Wave Coffee, and Redbus. The narrative reframes success and growth as less of a spectacle, and more of a story of becoming – with Cashfree Payments’ robust infrastructure as the invisible backbone that powers it all.

Akshat Chaturvedi, Karthik Nambiar and Nikhil Unni, Brand Strategy & Creatives, Talented said, “In a category where capabilities converge, we recognised an opportunity to differentiate through perspective. Payment gateways compete on features, but businesses are rarely spoken to in ways that reflect how differently they operate. ‘One of Your Kind’ became a platform to shift the narrative – from feature-led storytelling to an archive of ambition rooted in the larger philosophy of how Cashfree builds around each business’s individuality.”

Sanjana Krishnan and Rohan Shetty, Directors add, “This was one of those rare film shoots where we didn’t have sets to build – we had to inhabit real warehouses, offices, and store outlets. We moved like flies on the wall, letting the rhythm of the environment dictate the frame. The mixed-media documentary style became a careful choreography of photographs, paperwork, everyday objects, and candid human moments. Every detail had to feel intentional, even when the moment itself was unscripted.”

One of Your Kind signals how Cashfree Payments sees its role – not as a uniform layer across industries, but as infrastructure shaped around the specific pressures each category carries. Whether improving checkout conversion and managing COD risk in E-commerce, enabling seamless pre-authorisations in Travel, building robust subscription suites for SaaS, or expanding access through EMI for Education, Cashfree Payments builds around context, rather than conformity. A business shaped by the businesses it serves.

Watch the film here: youtu.be/EHXJRi9YzrY

About Cashfree Payments

Cashfree Payments is a leader in payments in India. Founded in 2015, Cashfree Payments processes transactions worth $80B annually for more than a million businesses.

Businesses use Cashfree Payments to collect payments from 100+ payment methods, make payouts, make cross border payments, improve conversions with a one-click checkout, recover abandoned carts, and predict and reduce returns. With an easy onboarding and integration process, and compatibility with popular merchant platforms like Shopify, Wix, WordPress, WooCommerce, WhatsApp, Cashfree Payments enables businesses to start transactions within a day. Cashfree Payments directly connects with all payment networks and owns its payment processing technology end-to-end, ensuring higher success rates and reliability. Built for scale, it enables businesses to process an industry-leading 12,000 transactions per second, handling peak demand effortlessly.

Alongside payments, Cashfree Payments offers SecureID, an identity verification stack with a comprehensive suite of APIs and KYC components. SecureID enables fintechs and startups to streamline compliant onboarding and KYC flows by minimising user inputs, thus reducing drop-offs, intelligently verifying identity documents, and detecting fraud and anomalies with high accuracy.

Cashfree Payments is authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator for both domestic and cross-border payments, and was one of the first entities to be authorised. It is also authorised to issue Prepaid Instruments. Cashfree Payments is backed by Silicon Valley investor Y Combinator, Apis Partners, State Bank of India (SBI), KRAFTON, and was incubated by PayPal.

Galgotias University has achieved another milestone, as one of its Alumni and Ex Army Wing Cadet Priyanshu Dixit, has been commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 3 Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army, passing out parade held at the OTA (Officers Training Academy) Chennai on 07 March 2026.

Galgotias University alumnus Priyanshu Dixit commissioned as Lieutenant in the Indian Army

Priyanshu Dixit, an Ex Army Wing Cadet of the NCC (National Cadet Corps) Batch 2020, 40 UP BN NCC and a student at the School of Basic and Applied Sciences (SBAS), was widely respected among his peers and mentors for his strong sense of responsibility, discipline, and leadership. During his life at Galgotias University, he served as SUO (Senior Under Officer), the highest rank a cadet can hold in NCC. He was always a fitness enthusiast, fond of sports, and maintained a high level of physical fitness.

From the beginning of his educational life, he showed a strong interest in joining the Indian Army to serve the nation. Former Chief of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, was his inspiration, and he always aspired to follow in his footsteps. His parents supported him in pursuing this dream.

His journey toward the Indian Army is a result of years of hard work, discipline, and commitment to a larger purpose. As an NCC cadet, Priyanshu actively participated in multiple camps, hard training exercises, and leadership initiatives. His dedication and hard work ultimately led to his selection and being commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army.

Galgotias University proudly congratulates its student, Lieutenant Priyanshu Dixit, and wishes him strength, honour, and success as he begins his service to the nation. 

About Galgotias University
Galgotias University is among the world’s leading universities in Quacquarelli Symonds (QS Rankings) and Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings.

Galgotias University proudly ascends in the QS World University Rankings 2026 by Quacquarelli Symonds, securing a coveted position in the 1201–1400 global band. Ranked 15th among top private universities and 43rd among all Indian universities, this achievement marks a powerful endorsement of Galgotias’ unwavering commitment to academic excellence, global relevance, and innovation in higher education. Galgotias has also been accredited with NAAC A+ grade in its very first cycle, achieving these milestones in a record time of just 14 years.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025, Galgotias University has been ranked 45th among Indian universities (including both government and private institutions) and placed in the globally prestigious 1001–1200 band. This recognition reinforces the university’s growing stature in the international academic landscape and reflects its consistent progress across global higher education benchmarks.

These recognitions highlight Galgotias University’s strong focus on teaching excellence, research impact, internationalization, industry integration, and innovation driven learning, shaping globally competent graduates ready for the challenges of the future.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. N K Gaur
Registrar
Galgotias University
registrar@galgotiasuniversity.edu.in.

Please visit: www.galgotiasuniversity.edu.in.

Nippon Paint India, part of the NIPSEA Group and the No. 1 paint and coatings companies in the Asia Pacific region, has announced a strategic partnership with Humble Bee, a purpose-driven social enterprise working to transform India’s beekeeping ecosystem through innovation and sustainable practices.

Nippon Paint India Partners with Humble Bee

The collaboration brings together high-performance, eco-conscious coatings expertise and precision-engineered hive manufacturing to strengthen India’s apiculture infrastructure from the ground up. The initiative focuses on enhancing the durability, safety, and longevity of wooden beehives, thereby supporting healthier bee colonies and improved rural incomes.

Mr. Mark Titus, President-Decorative Coatings Business, Nippon Paint India, said, “The beehive represents productivity, interdependence, and resilience. By extending our expertise in durable and environmentally responsible coatings to this ecosystem, we are contributing beyond product performance, supporting livelihoods, strengthening biodiversity, and enabling long-term rural sustainability.”

As a GreenPro-certified brand, Nippon Paint India adheres to stringent environmental benchmarks, ensuring its coatings are free from harmful VOCs and safe for surrounding ecosystems. The low-VOC formulations provide structural protection while maintaining a bee-safe environment within the hive.

Humble Bee’s beehives, manufactured at its Varanasi facility, India’s first precision-engineered beehive manufacturing unit, are crafted using sustainably sourced Southern Yellow Pine. These hives are coated with Nippon Paint’s low-VOC, weather-resistant formulations designed to withstand India’s diverse climatic conditions.

Ms. Monika Shukla, CEO and Co-founder of Humble Bee added, “Every color on these hives tells a story, of a woman reclaiming her agency, of crops that flourish, and of biodiversity that revives.”

Across tribal and rural regions, particularly among first-generation women farmers, these painted hives are being introduced to improve productivity, resilience, and livelihood stability. India continues to face a significant gap in pollination capacity, even as global honey markets increasingly demand traceable and ethically produced products. This partnership seeks to address both challenges by strengthening the foundation of sustainable apiculture at the hive level.

Field trials will be conducted over the coming months to assess bee compatibility, coating durability, and performance under varying environmental conditions, after which the initiative is expected to scale across key regions in India. As part of the collaboration, Nippon Paint and Humble Bee have also co-developed a distinctive ‘Blobby’ hive design, reflecting a shared commitment to innovation and community impact.

Sony India announced the launch of a new colour variant, Sand Pink, for its wireless noise cancelling headphones, WH-1000XM6. The award-winning WH-1000XM6 series continues to set benchmarks in premium audio and personal listening experiences. Building on this legacy, the introduction of the Sand Pink variant blends premium sound with industry-leading noise cancelling in a seamless, sophisticated design offering an unparalleled audio experience for music lovers, fashionistas, travellers, and professionals alike. The new Sand Pink finish adds a fresh and contemporary aesthetic to the iconic WH-1000XM6 lineup, elevating both style and performance.

WH-1000XM6 New Sand Pink Colour Variant

The WH-1000X6 headphones allow you to hear your music as it was meant to be. Developed in collaboration with world-renowned mastering engineers at three of the industry top recording studios, Sterling Sound, Battery Studios and Coast Mastering the WH-1000XM6 refines every note for studio-level accuracy, delivering a superior music experience. 

The WH-1000XM6 are engineered to perfection with the specially designed driver unit delivering clarity that feels almost tangible, and every detail comes through with precision. 

The next evolution in noise cancellation​

Powered by advanced processor and an adaptive microphone system, noise cancelling is optimised in real time on the WH-1000XM6, so your world stays undisturbed, and your sound stays pure. With processor speeds seven times faster than its predecessor, the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 fine-tunes 12 microphones, which is 1.5 times more than its precursor the WH-1000XM5, in real time, delivering a dramatic leap in noise cancelling and sound quality. The precise detection of the twelve optimally places microphones allow the noise cancellation to adapt more precisely to fit you and your environment. Whether you are looking to block out noise on a busy commute or stay focused in the office, your sound experience will be seamless and powerful. 

Additionally, the WH-1000XM6 features Sony’s most advanced noise cancelling yet, powered by a next-generation chip and intelligent algorithms that block distractions before they reach you. Co-created with world-renowned mastering engineers, the headphones deliver studio-level sound precision, while 360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema brings immersive, theatre-like audio to life. Designed for everyday use, the WH-1000XM6 also ensures ultra-clear call quality, so you are always heard on every call, in any environment. 

With this launch, Sony is broadening its appeal among younger audiences and consumers seeking a blend of high-performance technology and expressive design. The new Sand Pink colour, in essence, offers a playful yet sophisticated alternative to more classic shades. 
 

Pricing and Availability

The WH-1000XM6 Sand Pink is available now. It will be available on Select Sony Center, Croma and Reliance outlets, www.ShopatSC.com portal and Amazon.

About Sony India Pvt. Ltd.

Sony India Private Limited (Sony India), a private limited company with its ultimate holding company as Sony Group Corporation, Japan, has established itself as a premium brand in various product categories including television, digital imaging, personal audio, home entertainment, gaming, car audio, and professional solutions. The company places a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction and maintains high standards in sales and services. Sony also prioritizes environmental sustainability, aiming to achieve a zero environmental footprint throughout the lifecycle of its products and business activities to contribute to a healthier and enriched life for all of humanity and future generations.