Bengal Grants Industry Status to Logistics: A Gateway to Growth and Jobs

Main Article
Sat, Sep 20, 09:28 AM IST

The West Bengal government has taken a major policy step by granting industry status to the logistics sector – a move expected to attract investments, reduce costs, create employment, and position Bengal as a major logistics hub for eastern India and neighbouring regions. 

 

What This Means

 

  • Incentives & Easier Finance: With industry status, logistics firms can access government incentives, easier bank credit, and possibly lower power tariffs. 
  • Land & Infrastructure: The policy provides access to state land banks for industrial/logistics development. Industrial corridors are being developed (e.g. the Tajpur–Dankuni–Raghunathpur corridor), and large tracts of land (193+ acres in Asansol) are being converted to freehold/industrial use. 
  • Part of a Larger Policy Push: This move is aligned with the West Bengal Logistics Policy, 2023, which already anticipated granting industry status to the sector.

 

Why Bengal Has the Potential


Strategic Location

Bengal is geographically well placed, connecting not just to the Northeast but serving as a transit point to neighbouring countries. For exports‐imports, eastern ports and rail/road links give it an advantage. 

 

Growing Industry Base and Consumption

With a population of over 100 million plus, rising middle class consumption, urbanization, and digital commerce (e-commerce), demand for efficient logistics is increasing. 

 

Comparative Advantages

  • Existing transport networks: national highways, rail links, proximity to ports. 
  • Land availability (through state‐owned land banks) and industrial corridors giving economies of scale. 

 

Challenges & What Needs to Be Done


While the move is promising, there are obstacles to fully realising the potential:

  • First/Last-Mile Connectivity: Even with big highways or corridors, reaching smaller towns or peri-urban areas remains difficult. Poor roads, missing rail connections, logistics hubs too far from production zones add cost.
  • Warehousing & Cold Storage: Many goods require temperature‐controlled supply chains; infrastructure here is underdeveloped in many parts of Bengal.
  • Regulation & Permitting Delays: Clearances, environmental permissions, etc., still take time in many places.
  • Skilled Workforce: Logistics needs people trained in operations, warehouse management, inventory tech, multimodal handling. Upskilling will be essential.


Broader Trends & Comparisons

 

  • Across India, 19 states/UTs have already granted industry status to Logistics, enabling similar fiscal/non-fiscal incentives. 
  • Many of these State Logistics Policies (SLPs) emphasize multimodal transport, digitisation (for visibility, tracking), sustainable logistics (green freight, reducing carbon), discrete warehousing standards. Bengal’s policy echoes many of these features. 
  • The National Logistics Policy (India) aims to reduce the logistics cost (currently high) as a percentage of GDP, improve speed & efficiency, align with PM GatiShakti (national infrastructure connectivity plan). Bengal’s move is consistent with that direction. 

 

What It Could Unlock

 

  • More investment in logistics infrastructure: multimodal parks, warehousing, inland container depots, cold chains.
  • Lower operating costs for businesses: cheaper logistics, power, land, credit = better returns or lower prices for consumers.
  • Job creation across skill levels: drivers, warehouse staff, operations, tech roles.
  • Boost to trade not just within India but with neighbouring countries via ports; better logistics will make exports from Bengal more competitive.
  • Smaller towns and MSMEs could benefit if connectivity improved, enabling them to integrate into wider supply chains.


Conclusion


Granting industry status to logistics is more than just a policy change; it is a catalytic move. If implemented well, with infrastructure, regulatory ease, and human resources, it could mark a turning point in West Bengal’s economic trajectory — making it a logistics backbone for East India, the Northeast, and beyond.

 

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