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Take advantage of U.P.’s new warehouse policy: Anupriya Patel to investors
The Union MoS for commerce and industry underscored need for reduction in logistics cost at Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) 2023 in Lucknow
Union minister of state for commerce and industry Anupriya Patel on Sunday urged private players to take advantage of Uttar Pradesh government’s new warehousing and logistics policy which, she pointed out, sought to encourage the private sector as per PM Narendra Modi’s vision.
She was speaking as the chief guest in a session on ‘Uttar Pradesh—The emerging warehousing and logistic hub of India’ on the third and last day of the Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) 2023 here.
Praising the UP government’s efforts in achieving the national target of reducing logistics cost, she said currently the logistics cost in India was as much as 14% of the GDP, which will rise to around 8% by 2030.
She further said that as the world’s 5th largest economy, India aspired to be among the top ten in the Logistics Performance Index by 2030. “We can achieve our goal provided U.P., the country’s largest state, continues to improve its warehousing and logistics infrastructure,” Patel said.
Presenting her views on the subject, another Union minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash said that reducing the logistics cost was very important for the industry. “Policy efforts are being made for this. The logistics cost to GDP ratio is much lower in the US, South Korea, Singapore, and some European countries,” he added.
“The government aims to ensure that logistics issues are minimised, exports increase manifold, small-scale industries flourish and the people who work there get more profit,” he said.
Appreciating U.P.’s new logistics policy, he said this policy would help in making the sector an integrated, cost-efficient, flexible and sustainable logistics ecosystem in the country by optimising regulations and separating supply-side bottlenecks.
Further praising the Yogi government’s policies, he said, “There was a time when people used to go from U.P. to Punjab in search of employment but today in 5–6 years of the Yogi government things have changed so much that people from other states come to see the wonderful changes in U.P.”
Uttar Pradesh cooperative minister JPS Rathore said the state had the country’s largest rail network even as a highway network was being constructed and the Inland Waterway had begun. “Our industry will benefit from this. U.P. is currently developing policies with future in mind. There are opportunities in every sector for the country’s and the world’s industries here,” he said.
Minister of state for industrial development Jaswant Singh Saini said the interest of investors was safe in U.P. and urged them to invest without any doubts and apprehensions.
Lokanathan Nadar, head of corporate affairs, Welspun One Logistics Parks, said the logistics sector had a major role to play in meeting U.P.’s target of a $1 trillion economy. The U.P. government, he said, had also given birth to new possibilities through the inland waterway.
RK Jain, managing director, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited, provided detailed information about the under-construction freight corridor. He said the Centre was constructing the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor via two dedicated freight corridors. “Both the corridors will have a direct impact on Uttar Pradesh. This would be an excellent investment opportunity,” he added.
