The fourth session of the Marathwada Exporters Forum (MEF), organised under the Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA), took place on Saturday, aiming to foster direct dialogue between industry stakeholders and government agencies on export–import policies, operational challenges, and practical solutions. Senior officials from Customs and CONCOR at ICD Maliwada attended as special invitees.
The session featured in-depth guidance from Satish M. Dandge, Assistant Commissioner of Customs; Devendra Patil, Superintendent of Customs; and Vaibhav Verma, Terminal Manager at CONCOR. Officials highlighted that the approach of Customs and CONCOR is evolving towards proactive engagement with exporters, with a focus on facilitating and enhancing export growth.
Participants were briefed on the advanced infrastructure at ICD Maliwada, which includes single-window customs clearance, skilled manpower, 24×7 operations, container availability, rail connectivity, container repair facilities, and significant time and cost savings for industries. It was noted that several processes that are time-consuming at major ports like JNPT can be handled more efficiently at ICD Maliwada.
Superintendent Patil emphasised that the single-window clearance system and industry-friendly environment significantly reduce clearance timelines. Assistant Commissioner Dandge encouraged exporters to visit ICD Maliwada to leverage the available facilities. CONCOR Terminal Manager Verma shared details on container availability, rail services, factory-to-factory container movement, cost savings through special tariff structures, credit facilities, and future expansion plans for the terminal.
At the start of the session, Rushikesh Jaju, Head of the Trade Facilitation Cell at CMIA, noted that the vision conceived a year ago to directly connect industry with ICD Maliwada has now become a reality. He described this engagement between government agencies and industry as a “golden opportunity” to boost exports from the Marathwada region and announced that an MEF delegation will soon visit ICD Maliwada.
The session was attended by CMIA Honorary Secretary Mihir Saundalkar, Vice President Atharveshraj Nandawat, members Aniket Patil, Ravish Soni, MEF core member Sunil Gadgekar, and around 35 MEF members.