Union Minister of Railways; Commerce & Industry; Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today said that National Logistics Policy, which is under consultation, along with the National Logistics Council and State Logistics Coordination Committee, will work as a template for better coordination and integrated development for logistics centre. Addressing the 1st National Conference of States on Logistics, he said that Logistics team in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is trying to integrate various means of transport, documentation & stakeholders through technology platforms, into a much-simplified way of working, which will enhance the Ease of Doing Business.

Lauding the cooperative spirit in today's conference, Shri Goyal said that this will truly give confidence to our business community & stakeholders in logistics that Center & States are working as team. He said that Logistics is about ensuring customer satisfaction, and the associated infrastructure required to achieve that is what logistics is all about. The Minister said that Logistics is all about 5R's: Getting the Right product - In the Right condition - At the Right place - At the Right time - To the Right customer. Describing Logistics as the lifeline of the nation's economy & industry, he said that in the midst of the lockdown, we were able to ensure that not a single person had to suffer for want of food grains, power, essential commodities

Shri Goyal said that in India, we have $200 billion logistics ecosystem. A good part of it is supported by the Indian Railways. “We are making massive efforts to bring down the cost of logistics & expand the scope of service that Railways provide. Using COVID crisis as an opportunity, Railways reoriented its pattern of working. A zero-based time table was created. Yesterday, on 18th January, the average freight speed train speed was 46.77 kmph as compared to 22.47 kmph last year in the same period.”

The Minister said that in the first 18 days of January this year, the average freight speed train is 97% higher as compared to the same period last year: He said that DFC are corridors which will only carry freight transport, increasing the speed exponentially and bringing down the cost while adding huge capacity to be able to transport volume goods & small parcels. “ By 2022, we will have both, the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors ready and will serve the people of India. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the first 650 km of dedicated freight corridor, on both, the Eastern and the Western fronts. By March we will have another 350-400 km of DFC ready.”

Shri Goyal said that India has been able to demonstrate to the world its resilience & capacity to face adversities. He said that all the statistics that are coming out show the new India is going to surpass all previous records in terms of growth, realise our vision to make India a self-reliant economy & truly achieve our rightful place in the world. He said “India under leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi has demonstrated that this disruption will only mean a difficulty which we will convert into opportunity.”

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