In News: National Conference with States on Logistics Was organized on Tuesday 19th January, 2021 by the Department of Commerce.
National Logistics plan
- This government aims to come out with the most cost-effective method to transport goods till 2035 to provide a competitive edge to the Indian industry.
- Logistics division in the commerce department is in talks with logistics providing ministries of railways, roadways, shipping, inland waterways and civil aviation besides the logistics using ministries including food processing, coal and mines to chalk out the plan.
- The logistics division has created a National Logistics Information Portal, which will also be an online logistics marketplace.
Draft National Logistics Policy
Key feature of the draft policy
- The draft National Logistics Policy has been prepared in consultation with the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Civil Aviation. Forty-six Partnering Government Agencies (PGAs)
- Inputs were analysed in detail for consideration in the Policy.
- Vision and Objectives for Logistics in India :To drive economic growth and trade competitiveness of the country through a truly integrated, seamless, efficient, reliable and cost effective logistics network, leveraging best in class technology, processes and skilled manpower.
- Key objectives of the national logistics policy: Given the pivotal role of the logistics sector in the development of the economy and the need to incorporate learnings from global best practices, the policy outlines an ambitious set of objectives.
- The following are some of the key objectives for logistics in India, to be achieved in the next five years:
- Creating a single point of reference for all logistics and trade facilitation matters in the country which will also function as a knowledge and information sharing platform.
- Driving logistics cost as a % of GDP down from estimated current levels of 13-14% to 10% in line with best-in-class global standards and incentivize the sector to become more efficient by promoting integrated development of logistics.
Objectives of the Logistics Policy
- Creating a National Logistics e-marketplace as a one stop marketplace. It will involve simplification of documentation for exports/imports and drive transparency through digitization of processes involving Customs, PGAs etc in regulatory, certification and compliance services
- Creating a data and analytics center to drive transparency and continuous monitoring of key logistics metrics
- Encouraging industry, academia and government to come together to create a logistics Center of Excellence, and drive innovation in the logistics sector
- Creating and managing on an ongoing basis, an Integrated National Logistics Action Plan which will serve as a master plan for all logistics related development.
- Providing an impetus to trade and hence economic growth by driving competitiveness in exports
- Doubling employment in the logistics sector by generating additional 10-15 million jobs and focus on enhancing skills in the sector and encouraging gender diversity
- Improve India’s ranking in the Logistics Performance Index to between 25 to 30
- Strengthening the warehousing sector in India by improving the quality of storage infrastructure including specialized warehouses across the country
- Reducing losses due to agri-wastage to less than 5% through effective agri-logistics
- Providing impetus to MSME sector in the country through a cost-effective logistics network
- Promoting cross regional trade on e-commerce platforms by enabling a seamless flow of goods
- Encouraging adoption of green logistics in the country.
Source: PIB
