GatiShakti National Master Plan (GNMP)[1] for improving logistics efficiencies in India is widely discussed and ambitious program by the government of India. In addition to the GNMP, the ministry of commerce & Industries has also released National Logistics Policy or NLP[2].
The collective objective of these documents is to make industries competitive & reduce logistics costs in line with international benchmarks for comparable economies.
However, most of the industry professionals are struggling to understand what each document is envisaged to facilitate and achieve. This article attempts to simplify the agenda & goals of these documents.
To begin with, it is important to understand the difference between a Plan and a Policy especially from the perspective of adoption of these terms in Indian Context.
A plan is generally a road map to meet an objective while a policy is normally a set of guiding principles and rules for achieving the objective by different stakeholders. Though the strict definitions are not followed in making these documents, they serve as a good and effective template for transforming respective domains i.e. industries and logistics resp.
Apart from clarity , the documents have many good intentioned objectives. Even a partial achievement of these objectives carries transformative potential for the Indian industries & logistics landscape.
Coming back to the subjects of GNMP and NLP , it must be noted that the GNMP is predominantly focused on efficient infrastructure development planning along with network planning. Here network planning refers to connectivity planning ( though the intention may have been to create network effects. But that is not clearly spelt out in the document ). GNMP does not only account for logistics per se but on the overall development of industries. GNMP has focus on development and efficiency of Economic Zones.
On the other hand, NLP concerns itself with efficiency in logistics services by providing basic foundations through regulatory and digital initiatives . One can imagine NLP as a key & perhaps most important enabler for GNMP.
Key Feature of GatiShakti National Master Plan
GNMP is focused on breaking silos between inter departmental or inter-ministerial silos along with cooperation with state governments to implement holistic infrastructure development. For example, an Economic Zone may be developed with extraordinary efficiency, however, delayed road or railway connectivity will hamper utilisation and viability of the project. The situation is detrimental to the industries, investor and the country alike.
Therefore, one of the outcomes envisaged by GNMP is comprehensiveness in planning and taking preventive measure to avoid inordinate cost and time overruns.
Another key pillar of GNMP is that once it is implemented, it can enable prioritisation of different projects. It must be noted that all projects do not yield same impact at the same time. Some projects can deliver more value, for example, because they can add synergistic value to another project. Prioritisation of project is important given the limitation in administrative and financial bandwidth available with the implementing agencies.
GNMP can also help in identifying gaps during the planning stage itself. It will be easier if a high level view is available for complex projects which rely on other projects. For example, connectivity planning between a mine located deep inland to a nearest port or consumption area can be helped at the outset with possible gaps.
GNMP is also envisaged to become a powerful analytical tool for the user industries in optimising of planning process & reduce logistics costs as easy information on type and quality of infrastructure can provide end users to build scenarios based on changing environment. The combination of information on real-time status of infrastructure and data on the flow or usage of the infrastructure is likely to provide pools of high quality and quick data.
Broad contours of National Logistics Policy (NLP)
NLP is planned to be implemented with Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan(CLAP). CLAP is based on 8 key action areas that are core to any efficient logistics system. I will only dwell on key action areas on which sufficient details are available or comprehensible.
First and the foremost is Digitalization of various logistics information system and/ or databases. The basis of such digitalization initiatives is called Unified Logistics Interface Platform ( ULIP) .
ULIP is proposed to be an open-source platform which will allow other digital system to speak with ULIP platform. The availability of such high quality & integrated data and information system has an explosive potential in the form of unprecedented improvement in logistics efficiencies.
ULIP is based on modular architecture with easy interfacing capabilities with 3rd party tools & systems. Behind the interface sit rich data set that comprises of data from Ports , Aviation , Road , Rail, Customs, Digilocker, NICDC Logistics Data Services , Director General of Foreign Trade, & more to come.
Another important digital action plan is the creation of a Digital Dashboard – E-LogS (Ease of Logistics) to address issues in time bound manner and. to gather suggestion from the users.
Second important action plan is standardization of physical assets & setting of service quality benchmarks In logistics sector. The policy speaks about one specific segment i.e Warehousing for standardization . In this the consultation is underway with stakeholders from various backgrounds and interests.
The NLP has rightly identified that availability of skilled human resources is imperative to bring efficiencies in logistics sector. It may also be noted that each user industry requires logistics skill related to that particular industry. Given the difficulty in developing the specialised resources by the user industries, the action plan is to address the issues by assisting line ministries to develop human resource base in the respective sectors.
The NLP also intends to leverage the reach and potency of e-earning courses by designing and distributing training courses through Government Online Training (IGoT) platform of Department of Personnel Training (DoPT). The courses are targeted to build capacity at state and central level by training government officials.
The NLP also realizes that without adequate involvement of the states any policy initiative will be ineffective. Therefore , another action plan include assistance to states in developing institutional and policy frameworks for logistics sector at the state level that dovetails with overarching objectives of the NLP. It also plans to continually evaluate and suggest improvements in logistics ecosystem at the state level. NLP envisages to institute evaluation through Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) survey inn all states and Union Territories (UTs). The survey will seek inputs from the exhaustive list of stakeholders to suggest improvements to states and UTs.
Summary
GatiShakti National Master Plan(GNMP) is an overarching plan to benefit entire economy with the focus on integrated infrastructure development. It envisages to improve industrial particularly manufacturing sector’s competitiveness to global benchmarks by providing world class facilities and high quality and timely data. Although the document puts emphasis on improvements through Economic Zones, the spill over effect is far and wide for industries and the common man.
The National Logistics Plan (NLP) , on the other hand, acts as a the key enabler for the success of GatiShakti NMP or GNMP. NLP focuses on improving logistics efficiencies through clearly articulated action plans. The salient ones include digitalization of data and information through ULIP platform and capacity building through e-training programs . The plan also includes standardization of physical assets and service standards. NLP appreciates important roles to be played by States and UTs and envisages to assist them in building lower level institutional and policy framework compatible with the vision of NLP.
Together , GNMP and NLP hold the potential to usher in a great era for Indian manufacturing and unleash the huge unrealized economic potential through efficient implementation of projects and high quality data centric approach.
[1] https://dpiit.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gati-Shakti-FAQ-web_08March2022.pdf
[2] E – book on Launch of National Logistics Policy
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