Logistics costs will come down to 9% of GDP by 2024 end: Nitin Gadkari

The home minister said the government has set a target to bring down the logistics cost to 7.5% of GDP in the next 5 years

High cost of logistics, which stands at around 16 per cent of GDP, is a major challenge for Indian industry and the government targets to bring it down to 9 per cent by the end of 2024 helped by focused improvement in roads and railways, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

The main challenge in the Indian industry, trade and business is the high cost of logistics which is currently at 16 per cent, whereas in European countries and in Americas it is 12 per cent and in China it is 8 per cent, Gadkari said while speaking at an event organised by Assocham.

By the end of 2024, the aim of my ministry is to bring down logistics to a single digit at 9 per cent which in turn will help us increase exports, the minister said.

Also Read | India can become number one EV manufacturer by using lithium reserve in J&K: Gadkari

“To accomplish this, the government is focusing on improving both roadways and railways. We are building green highways and industrial corridors with focus on reducing the distance between major cities and hubs,” he added.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the annual general meeting of Assocham, Home Minister Amit Shah said the government has planned to invest about Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure.

In 2014, the length of National Highways in the country stood at 91,000 kilometers, which has now increased to 1.46 lakh kilometers, Shah said.

The home minister said the government has set a target to bring down the logistics cost to 7.5 per cent of GDP in the next 5 years.

Shah claimed that India’s share in global GDP increased to 3.4 per cent in March 2022 from 2.60 per cent in 2014. “Our share in global FDI inflow was 2.10 per cent in 2014 which has increased to 6.70 per cent in 2022,” he said.