India’s new National Logistics Policy (NLP)

Table of Contents

Background-

Since 2014, the government has put significant emphasis on improving both Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living. India’s new National Logistics Policy (NLP), a comprehensive effort to address issues of high cost and inefficiency by laying down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and multi-jurisdictional framework for the development of the entire logistics ecosystem, is yet another step in this direction. The policy is an endeavour to improve competitiveness of Indian goods, enhancing economic growth and increasing employment opportunities.

It has been the vision of the Prime Minister to develop world class  modern infrastructure through integration of all stakeholders in holistic planning and implementation so that efficiency and synergy is achieved in the execution of the project. The PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity – launched by the Prime Minister last year, was a pioneering step in this direction. PM GatiShakti will get further boost and complementarity with the launch of National Logistics Policy.

The need for a national logistics policy was felt since the logistics cost in India is high as compared to other developed economies. It is imperative to reduce the logistics cost in India for improving the competitiveness of Indian goods both in domestic as well as export markets. Reduced logistics cost improves efficiency cutting across various sectors of the economy, encouraging value addition and enterprise.

Key Highlights- National Logistics Policy

  • The new framework comes with a special emphasis on streamlining processes for seamless coordination, and reduction in overall logistics cost, besides pushing employment generation and skilling of the workforce
  • Setting up of Unified Logistics Interface Platform-ULIP which will bring all the digital services related to the transportation sector into a single portal, freeing the exporters from a host of very long and cumbersome processes
  • Through this portal, industry associations can directly take up any such matters which are causing problems in their operations and performance with the government agencies. There is a complete system put in place for the speedy resolution of such cases
  • Notably, the policy will boost employment and address manpower issues in the sector with the introduction of logistics and supply chain courses for students
  • It will shift the transportation stress from just the road to other modes as well
  • The policy will further augment warehousing capacity, and take products closer to the consumption points

The NLP’s launch is a landmark move for the sector. The policy will help bring down the transportation, warehousing and inventory costs, which will consequently reduce the overall logistics cost down to around 8% of GDP in the next 5 years. Digitalization of the logistics sector and the creation of unified portals will play a crucial role in bringing the logistics sector together. While ULIP will serve as a single window e-logistics market, ELOG will comprehensively address the industry’s issues.

 

Recent Updates