Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that the soon to be released National Logistics Policy will make MSMEs more competitive.

She said a National Logistics Policy will be released soon and it will clarify the roles of the Union Government, State Governments and key regulators.

Presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament, she said the policy will create a single window e-logistics market and focus on generation of employment, skills and make MSMEs competitive.  

India’s logistics sector is highly defragmented and the aim is to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022.

India’s logistics sector is very complex with more than 20 government agencies, 40 PGAs, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications, 10000 commodities, 160 billion market size. It also involves 12 million employment base, 200 shipping agencies, 36 logistics services, 129 ICDs, 168 CFSs, 50 IT ecosystems and banks & insurance agencies. Further, 81 authorities and 500 certificates are required for EXIM.

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 the growth of 5 to 8% in exports.

Further, it is estimated that the worth of Indian logistics market will be around USD 215 billion in next two years compared to about USD 160 billion at present.

The National Logistics Policy formulated by the Commerce and Industry Ministry will improve India’s trade competitiveness, create more jobs, improve India’s performance in global rankings and pave the way for India to become a logistics hub.

Published On : 01-02-2020

Source : SME Times