Need of the hour is to reduce logistics cost: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the need of the hour is to reduce logistics cost in the country as India cannot be competitive if this cost remains high.

He also said the investments in the Sagarmala project will boost the country's maritime infrastructure, expand freight corridors, make freight more cost-effective and bring down the current logistics cost, which is estimated to be about 13-14 percent.

The investments would help in reducing this cost to a more acceptable benchmark of 8 percent, and that is "the need of the hour today and India cannot be competitive as long as our logistics cost remain so high", he said at the Maritime India Summit.

The Sagarmala project aims at augmenting infrastructure in coastal areas of the country.