CAG to table report on multi-modal transport initiatives

To oversee the audit, the CAG has constituted an Integrated Audit Group to coordinate work across audit verticals covering Railways, infrastructure, ports, shipping and waterways. “The idea is to view the transport and logistics chain holistically and not as isolated segments,” said Additional Deputy Auditor General (Railways) Pravir Pandey.

The Railways has emerged as a key player in the country’s logistics reform. Under the National Rail Plan-2030, it aims to increase its freight modal share to 45 per cent and raise the average speed of freight trains to 50 kmph, while creating capacity ahead of demand till 2050. A 2025 study pegged logistics costs at 7.97 per cent of the GDP in FY 2023–24, but at a steep 16.9 per cent for the MSME sector. “Reducing logistics costs is critical to India’s competitiveness, and multimodal integration is central to that,” Pandey noted.