-by Atul Shukla
I started my sea life in year of 2011 on Ship Chembulk Savannah , Singapore flag from Port of Recife , Brasil and during my 6 months of sea-time I got opportunity to sail across various maritime nations in American & European continent . I was too young to understand the regulations of logistics and trade ; However in my assignment and opportunity to Ship’s captain and Chief officer as trainee officer I got exposure to learn various expects of maritime trade , international regulations and logistic policies across the globe . On my second sailing at Ship Alpine Moment , Hong Kong flag I sailed across Mideast , Indian Subcontinent , South Pacific Asia and during my first visit to Indian ports , I realised a big voidness in quality of infrastructure , standards of operation and lack of uniformity in process and documentation across Indian ports .
Eastern and Western ports were not integrated and there were lack of uniform policies to regulate , there was no National Logistic Policy which made headache for Indian Officers to trade and carryout maritime operations within their own country waters, Indians investors and businessmen were forced to established world’s best ship management and logistic companies either in Singapore or in Hongkong because of the floating icebergs in Indian governance and poor business ecosystem .
India despite of having a largest share of Martime activities , one of the largest coastlines , Countries with highest no. of Merchant Seafarers who are sailing across the globe was lacking behind in many aspects and had blurred vision about her Maritime development and Logistic policy.
Revival
It was the year of 2015 when India was chasing her new potential to reach out the sectors which were left behind since Independence , On 12th March 2015 just 3 weeks before to Indian Maritime Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the commissioning of the ‘Barracuda’ in Mauritius changed the dynamics of the pace of Maritime development . He said
“To me the Blue Wheel or Chakra in our national flag represents the potential of the Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the ocean economy is to us.”
India’s coastline is 7,517 kilometers long, and nine of those kilometers are coastal states with a number of ports that annually handle about 1,400 million tonnes of cargo. In value terms, 70% of India’s trade is handled via maritime transport. Due to its peninsular location, India has historically had maritime ties that have influenced trade, religion, and culture; these early ties, however, have since deteriorated. The emphasis of India’s international outreach has shifted nearly exclusively to the continent, particularly after independence.
Efforts & Realisation
The liberalization changes of the 1990s can be seen as a turning point for India’s priorities: it gave port development more attention and elevated its maritime position on the national agenda, but nothing was so successful as to move the needle thus far. Since 2014, when national policies were put in place to promote the development of the marine industry, a greater emphasis has been placed on expanding maritime capacity and outreach.
Early in the 1990s, policy directives and maritime logistics engagements started to take shape and grow, but they were stymied by ineffective leadership and a web of bureaucracy. It wasn’t until the second part of the decade that the discourse about these connections really took off. Many more parties are participating in the conversation today about maritime geopolitics, logistics, trade, infrastructure, ecology, and defense.
The Honourable Prime Minister of India launched the India Maritime Vision 2030 in March 2021, which has identified over 150 initiatives to strengthen. In order to achieve an accelerated and coordinated development of India’s diverse maritime sector, it was drafted after extensive consultation with over 350 public and private stakeholders, including ports, shipyards, inland waterways, trade bodies and associations, and legal experts. It comprehensively identifies over 150 initiatives covering all aspects of the maritime sector in the nation.
The facts include creating world-class port infrastructure, boosting freight and passenger traffic across inland waterways, improving logistics efficiency through technology and innovation, and setting the standard for a safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly marine industry. With the goal of fostering the expansion of logistics-intensive industries through port-led development, the government introduced the ambitious Sagarmala Programme in March 2017. However, as the program’s implementation progressed, it became clear that a national logistic policy platform was missing, which would have served as the dynamics’ framework and soul.
In response to the demand, the government created the MS Act 2022 and NLP 2022, two significant pieces of legislation that might make the dreams come true.
National Logistic Policy –
National Logistic Policy 2022 is built on the foundation of the Merchant Shipping Act of 2022 and the Major Port Authorities Rules & Regulation of 2021. National Logistics Policy is a comprehensive effort to enhance efficiency of the logistics ecosystem in India.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2022
To advance India’s business sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National Logistics Policy on September 17, 2022. On the same day that cheetahs were once again touched soil of India and represented that India is reclaiming her lost glory and resources back by her own efforts and Charisma .
The prime minister underlined the need for luggage to move quickly, like a cheetah, and mentioned that India spends 13–14% of its GDP on logistics, which is nearly twice as much as other wealthy countries do. The goal of the policy is to develop a logistics ecosystem in India that is technologically enabled, integrated, affordable, self-sufficient, workable, and reliable. Rapid growth will therefore be advantageous for India. India will seek to lower its logistics costs to parity with international norms by 2030 with the aid of the National Logistics Policy. It will also aid in the creation of data-driven solutions that enable decision-making for a better logistical setting.
The distribution network will be more effectively integrated, resulting in lower barriers, lower logistics and inventory costs, increased agility, and improved responsiveness. With the aid of the Multi-modal Logistics Park, which designates 35 locations across the country, new growth hubs will be established.
If India can successfully implement its National Logistics Policy, it intends to be able to realize its ambition of ranking among the top 25 countries in the Logistics Performance Index rating by the year 2030. In order to support PM Modi’s Gati Shakti-National Master Plan, the policy gives economic zones access to multimodal infrastructure
Features :-
The new logistics policy has four features: Integration of Digital System (IDS); Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP); Ease of Logistics (ELOG); and System Improvement Group (SIG).
The IDS integrates 30 distinct systems from seven agencies, including information from the departments of road transportation, railroads, customs, aviation, and commerce.
A new website called Ease of Logistics Services – E-Logs has been launched in compliance with the National Logistics Strategy. Industry organizations would be able to immediately address any such issues that are hindering their operations and performance with the government authorities through this platform.
“A thorough framework has also been put in place for the fast settlement of such cases,” PM Modi had to remark.
The Government’s Efforts to Improve Logistics. Previous initiatives and plans to enhance logistics were FASTag for faceless customs inspection and electronic toll tax collection. Gati Shakti is the most extensive of these schemes. There is a ton of information available on state infrastructure investments. There are 1500 layers of federal and state government data on the PM Gatishakti website. Infrastructure project tracking is now possible for ministries on a single platform.
Over the next four to five years, the Center intends to construct 200 airports, helipads, and water aerodromes in addition to almost doubling the 19,000 kilometer natural gas pipeline network that now exists.
Characteristics & Focal points :
In five years, the plan should lower logistics costs from 15% of India’s GDP to 8%. India must lower logistical costs to promote exports and boost the efficacy of homegrown goods.Lower logistical costs lead to higher productivity across a range of industries, promoting wealth creation and entrepreneurship. The government aspires to be among the top 25 countries by 2030 as measured by the Logistics Performance Index (LPI). The NLP will include the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP).By consolidating transportation-related online services onto a single platform, exporters’ time and resources would be more efficiently used. Businesses would find it easy to address their issues and grievances with government agencies straight away thanks to logistics services.
Although large, Indian logistics is unorganizedThe policy aims to organize the megamarket and promote the adoption of blockchain and AI across the country. There should be a Logistics Coordination Committee in each Indian state. Every year, the LEADS index will be used to assess each state’s performance. To increase logistical effectiveness, the federal government will provide a model, allowing states to create their own
magnitude 1.85 