'India to save ₹10L cr annually if it brings down logistic costs'

NEW DELHI: India will save Rs 10 lakh crore annually if the country is able to bring down the logistic costs by 4-5 per cent through PM Gati Shakti-National Master Plan for Multi-model connectivity, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in an interview with ANI on Thursday.

PM Gati Shakti completed one year today.

Goyal said that today in the country logistic cost is around 13-14 per cent. Our effort is to bring down the logistic cost by 4-5 per cent in the coming years. It will help India to save around Rs 10 Lakh crore annually. India is improving last mile connectivity through PM Gati Shakti, filling the infrastructure gaps, completing infrastructure projects within a short period of time through PM Gati Shakti, and if we bring down logistics costs from 13-14 per cent to single digit or 4-5 per cent down, it will save Rs 10 lakh crore annually.

He further added that going forward, as our target is to make the country's economy $30 trillion by 2047, we need to reduce the logistics cost. By reducing this logistic cost, you can imagine what amount of money can India save. Apart from this, by completing the infrastructure projects of the centre and states, we can save the extra expenditure, due to which the infrastructure cost will also be reduced by lakhs of crores of rupees. PM has shown us this vision to make India a world power.

The Minister expressed confidence that PM GatiShakti NMP would find a place in history as a powerful intervention that spurred rapid growth and development in the country. We look upon PM GatiShakti as s service to the nation and society, he said.

Secretary, DPIIT, Anurag Jain, told ANI that earlier we were having around 700 layers in PM Gati Shakti, now we have 1800 layers. This is the growth story of PM Gati Shakti. Jain said that PM Gati Shakti is increasingly being used in the social sector for better infrastructure development, thereby, taking fruits of technology to every citizen of the country and improving the ease of life for the common man.

Earlier in the programme, Goyal released a report on the ranking of states. According to the report, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat are among the 15 states and UTs categorised as achievers in the logistics index chart 2022. The index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura are the other states categorised as fast movers in the ranking.

The 15 states and UTs ranked in the aspirer's category include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Mizoram.

The report ranks the states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, highlights the key logistics-related challenges faced by the stakeholders and includes suggestive recommendations, according to the fourth LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) 2022 report unveiled by the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The index aims at enhancing the focus on improving logistics performance across states which is essential for improving the country's trade and reducing transaction costs.

The first logistics report was released in 2018. No ranking was released last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gujarat was in the first position in both the 2018 and 2019 ranking lists.