India is developing a grading and rating standards benchmark for warehouses and cold-chain facilities in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, according to Pankaj Kumar, Joint Secretary, DPIIT. As reported by Rediff Moneynews, Kumar made these announcements while addressing the FICCIs third Logistics, Warehousing and Cold Chain Summit 2026. The government has not yet determined who will regulate these ratings, with options including a government body or self-regulation by industry associations. Kumar emphasized that these facilities serve as nerve centres of logistics infrastructure and provide substance to resilient supply chains.
Graded facilities could gain easier access to incentives and credit through the rating system, as reported by Rediff Moneynews. The rating exercise follows two sets of warehouse standards and guidelines that DPIIT released recently, establishing a foundation for the new grading framework. Kumar noted that the rating system aims to provide measurable quality standards for the logistics sector and would help facilities get easy and affordable credit. These initiatives are specifically designed to modernize India's logistics sector, attract foreign investments, and reduce food wastage.
The department is actively working with states to bring warehousing and cold chains into state logistics policies, according to Rediff Moneynews reports. DPIIT is helping states prepare city logistics plans that cover warehouses, dark stores and cold storage facilities. As Kumar explained, these plans will include warehouse, dark stores and cold chain in and around the city and how to plan them. This coordinated approach ensures that state-level policies align with national logistics standards and provide comprehensive frameworks for regional logistics development.
DPIIT's logistics division is drafting guidelines for multimodal logistics parks (MMLPs) as part of the broader warehousing initiative, as reported by Rediff Moneynews. Warehousing and cold chains take up about 70 per cent of the area in MMLPs, making them a critical component of these facilities. Kumar revealed that the department is working on an MMLP guideline, in which they got so many ideas for value addition in the cold chain and warehouses. The guidelines are expected to promote value-added services such as labelling, packaging, redistribution and digitalisation, enhancing the overall efficiency and capabilities of these logistics infrastructure projects.
