Progress on the Draft of National Logistics Policy

The vision of the proposed policy is to drive economic growth and the business competitiveness of the country through an integrated, seamless, efficient, reliable, green, sustainable and cost-effective logistics network leveraging the best in technology, processes, and skilled manpower.

While, there is no official estimation of logistics cost for India, some private institutions have estimated the logistics cost to be 13 to 14 percent of the GDP. The proposed policy aims to reduce this to 9 -10 percent of the GDP.

In order to simplify documentation for exports and imports through  digitization,  Department of Revenue, CBIC have taken several initiatives like  (i) SWIFT ( Single Window Interface For Trade )  (ii) Adoption of Digital Signature (iii) 24x7 Customs Clearance – for ‘facilitated’ Bills of Entry and factory stuffed containers and goods exported under free Shipping Bills at select  ports  (iv) Import Data Processing and Management System (IDPMS) – jointly launched with RBI to facilitate efficient data processing for payment of imports and effective monitoring  (v) E-Sanchit  (vi) Two new IT  Modules ICEDASH i.e (Ease of doing business monitoring dashboard) and ATITHI app for electronic filing by passengers for baggage (vii) PCS 1X which is a platform for port related processes developed by Indian Ports Association.

This information was given by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha