NEW DELHI: Warehousing and Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) are going to play a critical role in the transformation of India and rural India in particular, said Shri Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).

The Secretary was addressing a seminar on “e-NWR – An Effective Tool for Promoting Pledge Financing” organized by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) under DFPD.

Delivering his address, 

Shri Pandey spoke about a paradigm shift and how in the next 25 years, real growth is going to come from rural India with mechanisation of agriculture, regulation of warehousing, organisation of the informal sectors of the economy, increase in financing and credit flow access in the rural economy and mobilisation of the potential of cooperative societies leading to better governance and accountability. He said that warehouses will continue to be required for safe storage, food security, financing and export. He further said that the Government has taken a number of steps for increasing registration of warehouses and promoting the benefits of registration of warehouses with WDRA and pledge finance against e-NWRs. These include encouraging all Government stocks to be kept in the WDRA registered warehouses and reduction in cost of insurance. He further said that the electronic negotiable warehouse receipts envisaged by WDRA have become a reality and inspired all the stakeholders and partners to continue their collective approach to benefit the people of the country.

WDRA celebrated its Foundation Day as it was constituted in 2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007. As a part of its Foundation day celebrations, a series of events was organized from 17th to 31st October 2022.