NEW DELHI: The Govt. of India has prepared a ‘City Logistics Plan’ for metros such as Delhi and Bengaluru for efficient freight and logistics movement within the city, a senior official of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said on Wednesday, 20th Nov. Efficient freight and logistics movement in turn will decongest large cities, reduce pollution, logistics costs, while improving the overall quality of life in cities, DPIIT Additional Secretary Rajeev Singh Thakur said. Thakur said that the plan will help advance the government’s agenda towards Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and fulfil India’s aim of achieving carbon NetZero by 2070. The guideline provides a framework and methodological approach from the perspective of a city to tailor its vision, objectives and indicators to specific local needs and peculiar city characteristics, collect relevant data and analyse its freight distribution issues and choose appropriate infrastructure, policy measures and services in collaboration with other relevant actors and stakeholders. This guideline is considered a living document that will continue to evolve through the incorporation of feedback and input from stakeholders and DPIIT will extend its support to the willing state and union territories to prepare city logistics plans. In 2022, the government launched the National Logistics Policy which includes the support for the development of city-level logistics plans. This City Logistics Plan initiative aims to reduce the logistics costs and improve efficiency and sustainability of urban freight transport. The official further said that several countries have adopted city logistics plans to improve the efficiency and sustainability of urban freight transport. For instance, Japan has been a pioneer in city logistics, implementing consolidation centres and other innovative solutions to manage freight effectively in densely populated urban areas. Many European countries, including Germany, France and Netherlands have developed comprehensive city logistics plans.
