According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, a task force will be formed to develop a framework for determining logistics costs in the country. It was decided at a workshop on the subject held on Monday by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Representatives from NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), academic experts, and other stakeholders would serve on the task force.

It "will be established for formulating a logistics cost framework in a time-bound manner," according to the statement.

The logistics cost framework workshop was organized in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Speaking at the workshop, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal suggested that when calculating logistics costs, take into account India's geography, terrain, size and complexities, trade volume and value, and so on.

He stated that e-commerce, smarter free trade agreements, adopting international quality standards, good manufacturing practices, capitalizing on a successful startup ecosystem, drone technology, artificial intelligence, and center-state partnerships will all contribute to India's development.

The government is going by certain estimates which suggest that logistics cost in India stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP. The government has rolled out a national logistics policy and PM Gati Shakti initiative to boost competitiveness of industry and cut logistics cost.

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