India’s much-awaited National Logistics Policy set for release on September 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil India’s national logistics policy, a crucial step for economic growth.

Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the national logistics policy on Saturday, September 17.
First announced in Budget 2020, this comprehensive action plan is aimed at
promoting seamless movement of goods across the country at a reasonable cost
and generating employment.

Besides,
the policy is expected to focus on several other areas such as process
re-engineering, digitisation, and multi-modal transport.

According to the government,
improving the sector will facilitate 10 per cent decrease in indirect cost
leading to a 5 to 8 per cent rise in exports.

This
move is significant according to experts because of the fact that high
logistics cost brings down the competitiveness of domestic goods in the
international market. It is being brought in line with PM’s ambitious
GatiShakti national master plan that was launched to build robust
infrastructure, fill the missing gaps in logistics and draw more investments
into the country.

Logistics
is a complex sector with over 20 government agencies, 40 PGAs (Partner
Government Agencies), 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications, over
10,000 commodities, and $160 billion market size.

It
also involves 200 shipping agencies, 36 logistics services, 129 ICDs (Inland
Container Depots), 168 CFSs (Container Freight Stations), 50 IT ecosystems,
banks and insurance agencies.

There is no single department which manages the sector, as it
is currently being managed by multiple ministries including road transport,
shipping, railways, civil aviation, posts and commerce and industry, and
finance.

The
worth of Indian logistics market is estimated at over $200 billion. The sector
provides livelihood to more than 22 million people.