Police, RTO add to India's logistics costs

Gujarat has topped the ranking of states on ease of logistics and was followed by Haryana and Punjab, but frequent stoppages by police and transport authorities were cited as a major regulatory challenge that push up overall costs.

New Delhi:

India has a major disadvantage with logistics cost estimated at around 14% of GDP, compared to 8-10% in case of developing countries. The government has set a target to lower it by five percentage points.

The government is, however, hopeful of fixing the problem. The latest Logistics Ease Across Difference States (LEADS) is expected to spur competition among states to improve their performance and will help reduce the overall cost, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. The minister said the recently unveiled Gati Shakti scheme will help fill infra gaps and reduce costs.