In a significant achievement, India has climbed to the 38th position out of 139 countries on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) Report for 2023, as per the ‘Connecting to Compete 2023’ assessment. This marks a noteworthy improvement, with India’s rank rising by six places from 44 in 2018 and a commendable sixteen places from 54 in 2014.

To facilitate this progress, the Indian government has undertaken a comprehensive approach to enhance logistics efficiency and reduce costs. The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on October 13, 2021, and the National Logistics Policy introduced on September 17, 2022, play pivotal roles in achieving these objectives.

The government has implemented digital reforms such as the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) for streamlined business processes and the Logistics Data Bank, which ensures the digitized track and trace of 100% containerized EXIM cargo.

A dedicated Inter-Ministerial team, comprising Stakeholder Ministries/Departments, is actively working on targeted action plans to address logistics performance across key parameters, including Customs, Infrastructure, Ease of arranging shipments, Quality of logistics services, Tracking and Tracing, and Timeliness.

The National Committee for Trade Facilitation (NCTF) oversees this initiative, featuring a three-tiered structure with a National Committee, Steering Committee, and Focused Working Groups. The working group on infrastructure upgradation has identified 27 action points under the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) 2020-23.

Various line Ministries are also contributing to this advancement. Initiatives include the expansion of railway track electrification, reduction of average release times for export and import by the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), and the launch of NLP Marine—a single window interface platform for port-related logistics operations.

The Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash, provided this information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, emphasizing the government’s commitment to enhancing India’s global logistics standing.