The commerce ministry has stepped up work on developing a national logistics portal, as part of its measures to ensure ease of trading and cut high logistics costs from 14% of the GDP to 10% by 2022. The portal is aimed at linking all stakeholders of domestic and foreign trade and all trade activities on a single platform.
A senior commerce ministry official said India’s logistics sector is very complex with more than 20 government agencies, 40 partnering government agencies, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications and 10,000 commodities. It also involves 12 million jobs, 200 shipping agencies, 36 logistic services, 129 inland container depots, 50 IT ecosystems and banks and insurance agencies. Further, 81 authorities and 500 certificates are required for exports or imports.
“The National Logistics portal will be implemented in phases and will fulfil the commitment of the Government of India to enhance trade competitiveness, create more jobs, provide a boost to #DigitalIndia and pave the way for India to become a global #logistics hub,” commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted.
“India’s logistics sector is highly defragmented and the aim is to reduce logistics cost from the present 14% of the GDP to less than 10% by 2022,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
In the Budget for 2018-19, finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced the creation of the portal that will be an online marketplace for trade and will connect businesses, create opportunities and bring together various government departments and private players.
As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, the Indian logistics sector provides livelihood to more than 22 million people and improving the sector will facilitate 10% decrease in indirect logistics cost, leading to a growth of 5-8% in exports. Further, the Survey estimates that the worth of Indian logistics market would be around $215 billion in next two years, against $160 billion now.
Source: financialexpress.com