PMO convenes meeting of secretaries on draft national logistics policy

The Prime Minister's Office has called a meeting of secretaries on October 3 to discuss the draft national logistics policy, which aims at promoting seamless movement of goods across the country and reducing high transaction cost of traders, an official said.

Secretaries from about a dozen departments, including commerce, steel, revenue, shipping, food processing, agriculture, oil and gas, chemicals, corporate affairs and chairman Railway Board will attend the meeting, the official added.

The draft national policy was floated by the logistics division of the commerce ministry. The ministry will give a presentation on the draft policy in the meeting.

The government wants to formulate the policy as the sector's growth is critical to boost exports and economic growth.

The cost of logistics for India is about 13-14 per cent of its GDP (which is over USD 2.5 trillion) and it is far higher as compared to other countries.

There is a target to reduce it to about 10 per cent in the coming years.

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

Logistics is a key component for increasing competitiveness of exporters and domestic traders by reducing transport cost and time, and expediting smooth movement of goods.

In February, the commerce ministry had floated a 23-page draft policy with an objective to create a single point of reference for all logistics and trade facilitation matters in the country, which will also function as a knowledge and information sharing platform.

It has suggested several steps, including creating a National Logistics e-marketplace as a one stop marketplace.

The draft policy will involve simplification of documentation for exports/ imports and drive transparency through digitization of processes involving customs, in regulatory, certification and compliance services; and creating a data and analytics center to drive transparency and continuous monitoring of key logistics metrics.