New Delhi, June 24 (KNN) Addressing government’s first National Logistics Excellence Awards on Thursday Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal said that a separate category of awards should be created for MSMEs in the logistics sector given the role played by them.

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

The Ministry of Commerce and Industries undertook a year-long process of identifying, categorising, and selecting qualified applications.

It registered 169 entries and 12 categories for awards in its first edition.

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

Speaking on the occasion, the Commerce Minister urged the industry to work with the government to bring down the logistics cost fr0m 12-14% to 7-8% as prevailing in the developed countries.”

The minister emphasized that the expansion of infra spending fr0m 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.

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

The minister also asked the industry to involve start-ups to become more transparent and efficient.

He along with the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash Sharma gave away the awards in 12 categories.  (KNN Bureau)