National Logistics Policy sent to Cabinet for approval: Official

The commerce ministry has sent the proposed National Logistics Policy, aimed at promoting seamless movement of goods across the country and reducing high transaction cost of traders, to the Cabinet for approval, a senior official said on Monday.

Special Secretary (Logistics) N Sivasailam said the policy has envisaged setting up of a central portal which will provide end-to-end logistics solutions to companies.

The portal will be a single window market place to link all stakeholders.

"The policy has been sent to the Cabinet for their approval," he told reporters here.

The proposed policy will also focus on increasing the warehousing capacity, and identify gaps that could be bridged to bring down the cost of logistics for traders.

High logistics cost impacts competitiveness of domestic goods in the international markets.

The cost of logistics for India is about 14 per cent of its GDP and it is far higher as compared to other countries. There is a target to reduce it to 9 per cent in the coming years.

Sivasailam also said that they have prepared a report -- LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) 2019 -- which suggests the states to improve logistics.

In the report, Gujarat has retained the top slot on the logistics index chart, an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.

"Efficient logistics can significantly enhance a country's ability to trade globally," he added.