ADB approves $250 million loan to strengthen logistics sector

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The ADB on Friday said it has approved a USD 250 million policy-based loan to support India's wide-ranging reforms that aim to strengthen and modernise the country's logistics infrastructure, improve efficiency, and lower costs.

The loan will finance the first sub-program of the strengthening multimodal and integrated logistics ecosystem program, which supports the government's efforts to create a comprehensive policy, planning, and institutional framework at the federal, state, and city level, it said in a release.

"This will rationalise India's high cost of logistics and reduce greenhouse gas emission," the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

It further said the program will help to strengthen supply chains by simplifying external trade logistics and domestic cargo movements, modernising warehouses, improving business processes with integrated digital platforms, and stimulating private investments in the sector.

The recently approved National Logistics Policy and the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan provide transformative institutional and regulatory frameworks for holistic development of the logistics ecosystem in the country and lays the foundation for building a modern and efficient logistics sector, it added.

The program also supports the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's initiatives to issue standards for warehousing, which would encourage operational efficiency and private sector investment, the Manila-based multilateral lending institution said.