Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that a separate category should be created to recognise the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector in the logistics sector.

The Government of India hosted its first-ever National Logistics Excellence Awards in New Delhi on Thursday. Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal along with the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash Sharma gave away the awards in 12 categories.

Speaking on the occasion, Goyal asked the industry to involve start-ups to become more transparent and efficient. He said going forward, a separate category of awards should be created for MSMEs in the logistics sector given the role played by them.

The National Logistics Excellence Awards aim to acknowledge the many logistics service providers in the country that have been able to display innovation, diversity and efficiency.

With 169 entries and 12 categories for awards in its first edition, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries undertook a year-long process of identifying, categorising, and selecting qualified applications.

An Expert Screening Committee of 18 diverse experts and a National Jury of 9 senior dignitaries was formed to make the final deliberations.

Goyal urged the industry to work with the government to bring down the logistics cost from 12-14% to 7-8% as prevailing in the developed countries.

The minister emphasized that the expansion of infra spending from Rs. 2.5 lakh crore to Rs. 7.5 lakh crore and Gati Shakti will benefit the logistics sector most with investment across roads, highways, ports, airports, multi-modal terminals etc.

Goyal said that GatiShakti will help in efficient planning and implementation, thereby ensuring that last-mile connectivity related issues are not there. He also informed that the government is actively thinking of promoting manufacturing of containers and ship-building.

Goyal appreciated the role played by the logistics sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the resilient and efficient supply chains developed by the operators in the logistics sector helped India overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and supported the growth in trade seen over the last 2 years.

The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash Sharma said that the availability of cost-effective logistics is critical for growth of the Industries and Indian Economy and that adoption of technologies and upgradation of skill levels of human resources engaged in the sector is a must.

Anurag Jain, Secretary of the DPIIT, acknowledging the excellence portrayed by the logistics sector, shared that GatiShakti, Atmanirbhar Bharat, driven by many MSME and Startups of the country, make the logistics sector very crucial to India’s economic ambitions.

In addition to the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report that measures that appreciates the endeavours of the State Governments, the Logistics Excellence Awards will continue to be an annual exercise recognizing excellence in logistics with the private sector in India.