At the IMEC Conclave 2025, Mr. Rahul Mithal, Chairman and Managing Director of RITES Limited, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the “software of connectivity” and deliver on short-term, tangible outcomes to realise the larger vision of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
“Let me pick up on two key points raised during the previous session—first, the ‘software of connectivity’, and second, the importance of identifying immediate, short-term deliverables—a modest, yet impactful, approach to implementation,” Mr. Mithal began.
Over the last few months, India has taken a significant stride in that direction by working towards the seamless digital interchange of logistics data. While digital data exchange in shipping is already active between India and the UAE, Mr. Mithal questioned the assumption that this is sufficient: “You may ask—what’s new about that? Well, interestingly, digital data exchange is already taking place in the shipping trade between India and the UAE. So again—what’s new?”
The answer, he explained, lies in the fragmentation of systems.
“On the Indian side alone, we have a multitude of portals: the NLP-Marine by the Ministry of Shipping, the ULIP portal by the Ministry of Commerce, ICEGATE for customs, and various port-specific operating systems. On the UAE side, we see platforms like MAQTA by AD Ports, and systems operated by DP World and other port authorities.”
The result is a logistical ecosystem that functions more like a maze than a highway. Using a simple yet apt analogy, Mr. Mithal illustrated the current challenges: “It’s a bit like trying to connect devices using incompatible chargers—you have an iPhone charger, a USB-C, a micro-USB—and in the process of adapting, connections are lost or don’t sync properly.”
This operational inefficiency, he noted, often forces stakeholders to input the same data across different platforms, leading to redundancy and duplication. This is precisely the gap that MAITRI—Master Application for International Trade and Regulatory Interface—aims to bridge.
“MAITRI is not just another portal. Let me reassure you—we’re not building yet another standalone system like ULIP or NLP-Marine,” Mr. Mithal emphasised. “Instead, MAITRI is a digital platform—think of it as a universal adapter that sits in the background. It connects the disparate systems on either side, enabling seamless, real-time exchange of logistics and regulatory information.”
In February 2025, the MAITRI initiative and logo were formally unveiled under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, signalling a new phase of digital cooperation between India and its IMEC partners.
In the six weeks following its launch, the initiative has gained momentum through a series of stakeholder workshops. These sessions brought together shipping lines and logistics operators from both the UAE and India, especially those involved in the India–UAE economic corridor, also referred to as the I2U2 Corridor.
The focus now is on identifying key types of information—customs data, shipping manifests, container tracking details—that can be digitally exchanged via MAITRI. “We’re preparing for a Proof of Concept (PoC) in the coming months,” Mr. Mithal shared. “This PoC will involve selected ports on both sides and specific commodity routes, aiming to demonstrate real-time, interoperable data sharing using the MAITRI platform.”
The potential, however, extends far beyond a single corridor. “If successful, MAITRI can serve not only the IMEC corridor but also other trade corridors globally,” he concluded
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