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National Logistics Policy

GS Paper 3

Syllabus:  Economy: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Source: Indian Express

Direction: Go through once

Context: India has unveiled its National Logistics Policy (NLP) with the aim of promoting the seamless movement of goods and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry.

      • The National Logistics Policy was also announced in the Budget for 2022-23.
      • India ranked 44th in World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2018.
      • Gujarat has topped the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2021 index

 

Need:

      • The logistics cost in India (about 13-14 %) is high as compared to other developed economies (8%)
      • India’s logistics sector is highly defragmented and very complex.
      • This sector provides employment to more than 22 million people and is expected to grow at the rate of 10.5% over the next 5 years.
      • Logistics is also the backbone of India’s international trade and will help in the diversification of not only India’s export basket but also of products and countries.

 

Aim

      • Reducing costs for the logistics sector to 10 per cent in five years.
      • Develop skills among youth and create employment opportunities.
      • Promote the seamless movement of goods and enhance the competitiveness of the industry across the nation
      • Focus on some key areas like process re-engineering, digitization and multi-modal transport

 

 

Four Major Steps Under National Logistics Policy

      • Integration of Digital System (IDS): Different systems of seven different departments (such as road transport, railway, customs, aviation, foreign trade and commerce ministries) will be integrated digitally.
      • Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP): It will also lead to improving shorter and smooth cargo movement. It will also enable information exchange on a real-time basis in a confidential manner.
          • NICDC’s (National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation) Logistics Data Bank Project has been leveraged to develop ULIP.
      • Ease of Logistics (ELOG): It will simplify the rules and ease the logistics business.
      • System Improvement Group (SIG): monitoring all logistics-related projects regularly and tackling all obstacles.

 

Other steps taken by the government:

      • Logistics division in the Commerce department has been created.
      • Gati Shakti Scheme
      • Bharatmala Program (building about 84,000 Km of new highways)
      • Sagarmala Project (unlock the potential of the country’s 7,5000 Km coastline and 14,500 Km of navigable waterways)
      • Railways: Freight corridors
      • Previously, the government plans to replace the Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act, 1993 (MMTG) with a National Logistics Efficiency and Advancement Predictability and Safety Act (NLEAPS)

 

 

Insta Links

Logistics Sector in India

 

Mains Links

 

  1. A push towards logistics, prioritizing government measures to reduce India’s extremely high logistics costs, plethora of regulations, poor connectivity and distribution challenges is the current need of the hour. Elucidate. (15M)