Fast tracking freight in India: a roadmap for clean and cost-effective goods transport

Freight transportation plays a crucial role in supporting the economic development of a nation, boosting its logistics and industrial competitiveness, and satisfying the daily needs of its citizens. Due to the rising demand for goods and services, India’s freight transport demand has been growing at 5 percent since 2015 and is expected to grow rapidly over the next three decades. Although freight transport is an important pillar of the Indian economy, it can also have negative consequences such as high logistics costs, rising CO2 emissions, and worsening air quality leading to poor public health. India can address these negative impacts through three main opportunity areas: Improve share of rail freight transport; Optimize truck use; and Increase the uptake of zero-emissions vehicles and fuel economy improvement technologies. In this report, NITI Aayog and RMI outline solutions for the opportunity areas mentioned above. These solutions can enable the freight transport ecosystem in India to become more cost-effective, optimized, and cleaner.