India is aiming to further improve its ranking in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) to top 25 by 2030, as per Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary, Logistics, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
India was ranked 44th on the index in 2018 and has now climbed to 38th in the 2023 listing. The country's performance has drastically improved from 2014, when it was ranked 54th on the LPI.
The DPIIT is also in talks with World Bank as well as International Monetary Fund to change the methodology while calculating the ranking under LPI.
“At the moment, the world bank’s LPI is based on a very subjective analysis. We are trying to bring in objectivity by impressing upon world bank how we are using technology to improve logistics in the country by way of Unified Logistics Integration Platform (ULIP),” Dawra added. She was speaking at a press briefing in New Delhi.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), launched in September 2022, is part of the ‘National Logistics Policy (NLP)’. It is an initiative in the logistics sector, which aims to bring ease of doing business in the logistics sector by simplifying the logistics processes, improving its efficiency, bringing in transparency and visibility, and reducing logistics cost & time.
LEADS survey 2022-23 to be launched in October
Meanwhile, the Logistics Ease across Different States (LEADS) survey for the year 2022-23 will be launched in October, as per Dawra.
The LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure, services, and human resources across all 36 States and UTs. This index is prepared by the Union government by obtaining the views and opinions of the stakeholders involved in the logistics sector in various states and union territories of the country and conducting an online survey for the purpose of promoting an integrated logistics ecosystem in the country.
Gujarat has been retaining its position in achiever’s category for the past four surveys since 2018.
Govt to announce estimated total logistics cost by end of September
Estimated total logistics cost as a percentage of GDP will be announced by the end of September, Dawra told reporters on September 14.
The government has faced backlash from India Inc., after a National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) 2018 report said that India’s logistics cost was 8.35 percent of the GDP. Indian industry estimated that total logistics cost is around 14 percent of the GDP.
“NCAER's 8 percent of GDP calculation in 2018 has been taken as the baseline for calculation of logistics,” Dawra said.
ICEGate customs issues to be resolved by November
The ICEGate customs issues will be resolved by November, Dawra further added.
ICEGATE is the new payment system, which enables users to create a virtual wallet account ICEGATE that acts as a mode of payment for custom duties online apart from internet banking and NEFT/RTGS.
Import consignments are stuck at ports and terminals across the country since April 1 this year, due to glitches in the new payment system.
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