The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of Framework and Assessment of Logistics Cost in India.
The MoU involves developing a detailed framework for assessment of logistics cost in the country, make a comprehensive study for assessment of logistics cost for year 2023-24 and assessment of differentials in logistics costs across routes, modes, products, types of cargo, and service operations.
The MoU will also involve identification of major determinants along with influence on the logistics in different sectors. This MoU envisages NCAER to conduct the detailed study and submit the report within a years’ time.
The MoU was signed by Secretary and Operations Director, NCAER, Anil Sharma and Joint Secretary, DPIIT S K Ahirwar.
The government had launched the National Logistics Policy (NLP) on 17th September 2022. One of the primary objectives of the NLP was to reduce the percentage of logistics cost to the GDP. In line with this, Logistics Division, DPIIT had earlier launched a report titled Logistics Cost in India: assessment and long-term framework in December 2023. This report was prepared by NCAER where a baseline aggregated logistics cost estimate and a framework for long term logistics cost calculation was prepared.
“The logistics cost of the country needs to be regularly assessed and monitored such that the data of cost variation will both benefit the industry and the policy makers. This process involves using data of trade flows, product types, industry trends and origin data pairs. In addition to conducting the detailed secondary surveys, this requires an institutionalised framework for the process of data collection in a systematic and periodic manner,” a statement from Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.