TFA to be policy focus
Samir Shah, Partner, JBS Group and Immediate Past Chairman, FFFAI, feels that though the draft logistics policy seems homogeneous in nature, it should keep the federal structure in mind.
Differences in a diverse country will have to be accepted. Simultaneously, there should be separate logistics policies from all state governments as well. The logistics policy will have to be guided by the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is a wellstructured document for an action plan on enhancing EXIM trade
through effective EDI and Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) systems. There are procedural errors about the calculation of logistics cost, which has been taken as 13-14 per cent of the GDP. It does not have a scientific basis as far as calculation is concerned, and it should be segregated commodity-wise. On skilling, the logistics sector is predominantly a human resources-based industry. Paradoxically though, the biggest challenge is to get people to come and join this industry. Stakeholders need to ensure good mobility and make the industry an attractive career option. People should be the prime pillars of the logistics industry. Training should be mandatory and monitoring training institutions should be a priority. Pay for the trainees rather than the training institutes. There should be multiple centres of excellence across the country. Women should also be encouraged to join the industry. Objectives and functions of the logistics sector council should also be incorporated in the logistics policy. There should be a massive media campaign by the government to promote the logistics industry, for creating a lucrative image of this sunrise sector.