India’s reputation as the “Pharmacy of the World” carries significant airfreight implications. Pharmaceuticals comprise over 12 percent of India’s total airfreight export value, and nearly 80 percent of this volume demands some form of temperature control, according to IATA.
“The weakest link is no longer airlift—it’s cold chain consistency from shipper to consignee,” observed Bhasker A, Associate Vice President of Engineering and Projects at Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. “GDP-compliant handling and validated lanes are critical if we are to compete with hubs in Europe or Singapore.”
The concern is validated by discrepancies in airport infrastructure across Indian cities. While metro hubs such as Mumbai and Hyderabad have made progress in pharma-certified facilities, regional airports remain under-equipped to handle high-value cold chain cargo, threatening India’s ability to decentralise pharmaceutical exports.
Digital infrastructure as the invisible enabler
A quiet but profound shift is underway in India’s airfreight sector: the digitalisation of cargo processing and inter-agency coordination. Vineet Malhotra, Director at Kale Logistics, explained how Cargo Community Systems (CCS) at key airports have reduced shipment dwell times by 22 percent and streamlined customs-clearance documentation.
This effort aligns with India’s ambition to improve its ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), where it now ranks 38th globally, a significant improvement from its 44th position in 2018.
“Interoperability between forwarders, airlines, ground handlers and customs is no longer aspirational—it’s fundamental,” Malhotra said. “A paperless ecosystem not only improves turnaround time, but reduces regulatory friction and enhances compliance traceability.”
Policy professionals monitoring digital trade facilitation will note that this evolution aligns with broader WTO efforts on Trade Facilitation Agreements (TFA), where data integration and real-time visibility are central to reducing cross-border inefficiencies.
High-Security & Precision Logistics
India’s rise as a hub for high-value, high-security cargo—ranging from banking assets to high-end electronics and jewellery—has triggered innovation in secure logistics services.
“India’s growth story in this segment is limited, not by demand but by scalable and standardised solutions,” said Rajkumar S, CEO of Sequel Logistics, a market leader in secure logistics. “We’re witnessing a strong uptick in inter-city express movement, especially among banking and bullion sectors.”
Sequel’s model, built on vault-to-vault tracking, temperature integrity, and end-to-end risk management, represents a critical edge in markets where data security, chain of custody, and audit trails are under increasing scrutiny.
Decentralisation: Beyond Metro-Centric Growth
While India’s six major metro airports account for nearly 80 percent of airfreight throughput, speakers at the panel urged policymakers to focus on capacity-building across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, especially as Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes decentralise manufacturing.
“India’s cargo growth will be driven not just by volumes, but by regional inclusivity,” stated Himanshu Pant, Managing Director & CEO of MGH Group. “We must incentivise the development of smaller cargo terminals and multimodal linkages in the hinterland.”
The success of regional air connectivity schemes like UDAN and the viability of smaller freighter operations will depend heavily on how India integrates cargo-specific incentives into regional airport modernisation plans.
Institutional execution remains a bottleneck
Despite strong policy ambition, experts cautioned that execution gaps remain—particularly around the National Air Cargo Policy Blueprint (2019), which remains largely unimplemented. Industry professionals highlighted the need for harmonised policy across ministries, centralised stakeholder coordination, and enforceable service-level benchmarks.
“India is at the cusp of a logistics revolution—but unless we institutionalise governance, standardisation, and training, we risk squandering the opportunity,” noted moderator Ramesh Mamidala, Head of Cargo at Air India.
A framework akin to the European Union’s Single Window Environment for Customs (EU SW-CERTEX), or a cross-sector regulatory authority for cargo, could help India accelerate execution while reducing regulatory fragmentation.
Implications for Global Trade and Sustainability
India’s airfreight expansion intersects with broader global challenges—particularly supply chain resilience, decarbonisation mandates, and digital trade compliance. With the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Fit for 55 proposals reshaping trade regulation, operators in India will need to adapt quickly to sustainability reporting, carbon footprint tracking, and green fuel adoption.
“We need visibility not just of cargo, but of carbon,” said one panel participant. “India must develop its SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) strategy in lockstep with trade policy, or risk being excluded from future air corridors with green mandates.”
In this context, India’s airfreight policy must be better integrated with its climate strategy, trade agreements, and aviation decarbonisation targets to ensure compliance and competitiveness.
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Author: Ajinkya Gurav
