India to finalise calculation of its current logistics cost in 4 months: Special Commerce Secretary

The government has rolled out a national logistics policy and the PM Gati Shakti master plan to cut down on logistics costs. Representational image

India is likely to finalise the calculation of its current logistics cost in four months with a task force in place that will finalise the parameters, which will be assessed for final computation, a top official from the Commerce Ministry said.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has formed the task force to calculate the logistics cost.

The government aims to reduce the country’s logistics cost to 9 percent by 2024 end, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said earlier. According to some estimates, India’s logistics cost at present stands at 13-14 percent of GDP.

“The task force will submit a list of parameters in about two months, which will be assessed in the final calculation of the logistics cost. Following this, the actual calculation will take another two months. In about four months, we should be able to finalise the calculation of our logistics cost,” Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary, Commerce Ministry, said in a media briefing.

The parameters will also help assess on what fronts the logistics cost remains high and which ones need focus to reduce the overall cost, Dawra said. “Not many countries have calculated their logistics cost,” she added.

The task force members include representatives from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), academic experts and other stakeholders.

The government has rolled out a national logistics policy and the PM Gati Shakti master plan to cut down on logistics costs.