The National Logistics Policy launched by Prime Minister Naraendra Modi on September 17 is going to boost employment in the $200 billion logistics sector (according to McKinsey Global Institute in 2000) as the industry is inching towards $320 billion by 2025.
The policy aims to reduce the cost of logistics in India to be comparable to global benchmarks by 2030 and endeavour to be among top 25 countries by then. The role of manpower is going to be very critical to achieve that, say industry officials.
New Value Proposition
R Dinesh, Executive Vice Chairman, TVS Supply Chain Solutions & President Designate of CII for 2022-23, “I believe at least a million jobs with specialised skill sets like, data analysis, business intelligence, real-time technology application could be created in the next 3-5 years. This will also help create a new value proposition for the youngsters of today.”
The policy will help make India a global hub for skilled resources in the supply chain sector. Further, it will uplift India to be a compelling choice for global companies to outsource knowledge-based jobs in the supply chain sector as well, he told businessline
Agreeing with Dinesh’s views, Ajoy Thomas, VP & Business Head, TeamLease Services Ltd, a recruitment firm, said more than 2.2 crore people in India rely on the logistics industry for their livelihood, and a large influx of new workers is anticipated.
Global powerhouse
The supply chain’s back-end operations and planning are where India is really starting to shine as a global powerhouse. It is a great chance to be at the forefront of providing skilled labour to meet the demands of international supply chains. This can only be accomplished if both the national and State governments are equipped to the teeth with state-of-the-art technology, he said.
The policy is going to transform the logistical landscape of the country and is expected to be the next big step in making India ‘Atma Nirbhar’. Will this big step help India Inc. reach the $5 trillion mark? Only time can tell, he added.
It is important to recognise that the logistics sector has employed over 20-25 million people across job roles in tier 1, 2 and 3 cities and continues to create job opportunities for the unorganised workforce in India. Three major improvement programmes – Mission Gati Shakti, The Sagarmala and The Bharatmala along with skill development programmes for workers in the sector have created a vast number of opportunities for both skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, said Sanjay Shetty, Director – Professional Search & Selection and Strategic Accounts, Randstad India, a recruitment firm.
Recovery from setbacks
The new logistics policy will help companies recover from the setbacks faced in the past two years and hire more workers to meet the growing demand for transport, digital warehousing, supply chain management and allied job roles. The average salaries will see a hike between 10-12 per cent in the next two years due to the introduction of drone deliveries and other disruptive technologies in the logistics sector, said Shetty.
