Opinion | Viksit Bharat: Charting India's journey towards logistics excellence

The world's largest democracy, home to more than 1.4 billion people and a diverse range of cultures and religions, has made significant socio-economic progress since independence in 1947.^th In 2047, the year of independence, the remarkable image of a 'Vikshit (developed) Bharat' is on the horizon and the Government of India is working hard to ensure that its people have the opportunity to contribute to the economic success of the country. is.

Developed countries are judged on factors such as quality education, universal healthcare, robust transportation systems, and good transportation systems, apart from economic resilience brought about by high gross domestic product (GDP) and low national debt. recognized for its high quality of life. infrastructure capacity. To achieve these initiatives, the central government has taken extensive steps to revitalize the education and health systems, while roads and transport have received a major boost (in India, the development of national highways in the last decade has been increased by nearly 60%). At the same time, the logistics industry, renowned as the backbone of the globalized economy, is undergoing comprehensive reforms in the country in parallel with the Vikshit Bharat manifesto.

India is projected to become a $26 trillion economy by 2048, with total logistics costs equivalent to 7.8% to 8.9% of GDP (FY2021-21), and a goal of increasing merchandise exports to $1 trillion by 2030. There are also incentives to push the dollar higher. The country expects its logistics and freight sector to expand significantly within the next 20 years.

Contribution in the logistics field

The Indian freight and logistics market has witnessed remarkable growth over the past decade, with the market expected to reach $484.43 billion by 2029, especially due to the widespread adoption of technological advancements. The sector is currently valued at $317.26 billion and plays an important role in India's economy, contributing 14.4 per cent of GDP and employing over 20 million people. Additionally, India's ranking in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index improved by six places to 38th position.^th This signals consistent efforts through national initiatives such as Prime Minister Gati Shakti's National Master Plan for Infrastructure Development, National Logistics Policy, and technological and infrastructure advancement.

As India embarks on implementing the Vikshit Bharat ideology, government initiatives at the national level are significantly facilitating India's efforts towards building a resilient logistics hub.

Efforts to strengthen logistics led by the government

Roads have an overwhelming market share of 73%, while railways, water, and aviation lag behind at 18%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. To address these challenges, the central government is implementing a number of initiatives and envisioning a resilient logistics market that will facilitate the dependent manufacturing sector.

Recognizing the important role played by logistics infrastructure in economic development, the central government launched the Prime Minister Ghatti Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) in 2021. The plan focuses on strengthening multimodal connectivity infrastructure across different economies within the country's major transport sectors. NMP will also serve as a digital platform and integrate existing infrastructure schemes such as Bharatmala (roads), Sagarmala (ports and waterways), and UDAN (regional air connectivity). This strategic focus is yielding optimistic results, with India's port turnaround time reaching a staggering 0.9 days, according to the World Bank's 2023 Logistics Performance Index report, leading to a staggering 0.9 days ahead of countries such as the US, Australia and Singapore. This exceeds the performance of developed countries.

To address logistics bottlenecks and increase efficiency, the government is implementing a multi-pronged approach. One of the key initiatives is the development of a network of 35 multi-modal logistics parks across the country under the Bharatmala Pariyojana programme, with a total investment of around Rs 46,000 crore. These parks will serve as regional hubs for consolidating and distributing cargo across various industrial and agricultural centres, consumer markets and import/export gateways such as sea ports, further streamlining logistics operations and contributing to the growth of the Indian economy. Contribute to improving competitiveness.

Northeast India (NER) is strategically located along a 5,812 km border with China, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal, making it a unique gateway for fostering trade and connectivity with East and Southeast Asia. It has become a mouth. His PM Development Initiative for the Northeast Region (PM-DevINE) was launched in 2022 to address connectivity and logistics infrastructure challenges in the region. The project is fully funded by the Center and focuses on the region's infrastructure needs.

Additionally, recognizing the logistics sector as infrastructure and allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) will unlock a number of financial incentives, thereby fostering sustainable growth opportunities.

Our goal

Although significant efforts are underway to strengthen the domestic logistics environment, there are still some ways to go.

The annual Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report, published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, broadly gathers key industry insights through intensive research conducted with various stakeholders across the value chain However, a more hybrid approach using primary and secondary research data allows us to identify cost-wasting areas (transportation, the nature of the product being moved, warehousing operations, etc.) each year and consistently implement evidence-backed policies. and fix/develop it.

As we continue to prioritize the development of our intermodal logistics network and strengthen our entire logistics sector, we see new global trends over the next decade, moving towards the integration of advanced technologies (e.g. drone delivery systems). We need to focus on preparing for this as well. We respond to these new logistics trends. Additionally, greater emphasis is being placed on integrating local ecosystems into national logistics networks to ensure the establishment of a robust and comprehensive system that benefits everyone.

Given that waterways remain one of the most efficient and cost-effective means of transporting goods, a robust We need to explore opportunities to develop sustainable inland waterway ecosystems. (by Inland Waterways Authority of India). Leveraging China's strategic inland waterway transport (ITW) could be a path in the right direction, given China's outstanding cargo handling performance over the past four decades, with total cargo volumes reaching the same level as in 1978. from 358 million tons to 3.74 billion tons in 2018 (a significant increase compared to the United States and the European Union).

Ultimately, the supply chain must ensure the unobstructed flow of goods along the value chain. We should emphasize the need to remove all obstacles to the flow of material and information. Only then will there be Shakti, Ghati and Vikshit in relation to our economy. As the country's logistics sector continues to flourish and develop, the vision of 'Vikshit Bharat' is an ideology that will not only intensify efforts to increase economic and infrastructural capacity but also socio-economically empower the people. In particular, it continues to receive urgent attention. We will ensure that every citizen will contribute to the execution of Vikshit Bharat.

Jayanth Murthy, Co-Managing Director, South Asia and Africa, Kaizen Institute. Pawan Agarwal, former Special Secretary, Logistics Department, Government of India. The views expressed in the article above are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect his News18 views.