The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting of the board of trade on Tuesday to discuss the National Logistics Policy and ways to boost exports in the country. In the meeting, Uttar Pradesh’s Minister of Information Technology, Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi informed Goyal that under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the last years, the state’s exports have surged to 77.27 per cent,
Nandi further said that under Adityanath’s leadership, the state has emerged as the fifth-largest exporter in the country, and has witnessed unprecedented growth in the development of airports and expressways. “Before 2017 UP had only two airports, but today that number is nine of which eight were almost ready while the work is moving at a fast pace on four,” he said.
The board includes participants from various states, union territories, and senior officials from the public and private sectors. The National Logistics Policy (2022-2027) will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17 and will be applicable throughout the country from October 1. The policy aims to promote seamless movement of goods across the country.
The policy is expected to focus on several areas such as process re-engineering, digitization, and multi-modal transport. In 2020, the government, in the budget, announced that it will soon release the national logistics policy. The move assumes significance as high logistics costs impact the competitiveness of domestic goods in the international market. The government has emphasized on the need to reduce logistics costs in the country from the current levels of 13-14 per cent of GDP.
According to the commerce ministry, the sector is complex with more than 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.
The sector provides livelihood to more than 22 million people and improving the sector will facilitate 10 per cent decrease in indirect logistics cost leading to the growth of 5 to 8 per cent in exports, the ministry had previously stated. As per estimates, the worth of the Indian logistics market is over $200 billion.
(With Inputs From PTI)
