Chandigarh, Dec 7 (KNN) To enhance the competitiveness of land locked State, Punjab Integrated Logistics and Logistics Park Policy aims to improve the efficiency of logistics sector and reduce cost from 13 to 8%.

According to HT reports, the State Industries and Commerce department is readying the policy for approval from the State cabinet.

The policy will offer fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investments in multi-modal logistics parks, transport centres, wayside amenities, specialised warehouses in border districts and specialised commercial vehicles fleets.

The final draft of the policy pitches logistics as a thrust area, identifying it as an eligible service enterprise for fiscal incentives, including reimbursement of state goods and services tax (SGST), employment general subsidy and exemption from change of land use charges (CLU) and external development charges.

“The concurrence of the finance department has been received. Comments are awaited from three to four other departments. After their observations are received, the proposed policy will be taken to the cabinet for approval,” said a senior officer.

Principal Secretary, industries and commerce, Dilip Kumar has written to these departments to send their comments on the proposed logistics policy within two days. The draft logistics policy was put in public domain on January 27, 2022, for feedback from the industry and other stakeholders.

Chief Secretary VK Janjua, while chairing a meeting on preparations for the Progressive Punjab Investor Summit 23 in February 2023, asked the departments to finish their work and have the industrial, logistics and information technology policies in place before the meet.

Under PM GatiShakti programme, the central government had also asked the states to formulate their own policies to shore up logistics. The policy proposed by the industries department focuses on logistics for export and agriculture, freight smart cities, logistics parks and development of warehousing facilities.  (KNN Bureau)