DPIIT showcases India's logistics reforms and initiatives in meeting with World Bank Team

According to a press release by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the presentation was made during a meeting chaired by DPIIT Logistics Special Secretary Sumita Dawra in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The Logistics Special Secretary highlighted that a targeted action plan has been shared by various ministries and departments. Powered by big data the initiatives will improve the logistics efficiency of the country and consequently improve India’s ranking in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI).

During the meeting, DPIIT showcased the best practices adopted by Indian ministries and departments that are helping improve India’s logistics efficiency.

The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has implemented a Land Port Management System (LPMS) to digitize operations and facilitate a secure electronic flow of information between all stakeholders at the integrated check posts (ICPs), read the press release.

LPAI has also implemented a smart gate for automated entry and exit (Land Port Petrapole) and attained the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) target of reducing export release time from 101 hours to 22 hours, and the average import release time for land ports is 17 hours.

The DPIIT officials told the World Bank Team that the railway ministry is planning a 100% electrification of railway tracks, said the release.

The speed of track construction has increased by 3.6 times between FY 2014 and FY 2023, and locomotive and wagon holding are expected to increase by 1.6 times and 1.8 times, respectively, from FY 2023 to FY 2030.

Capital expenditure (CapEx) has been increased to USD 31.2 billion in 2024 to improve the speed and volume of freight transport in the country, and the implementation of Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridors is offering an average speed of 50–60 km, which is almost three times that of regular railway tracks.

Ministry of Ports,Shipping and Waterways has launched NLP Marine, a national maritime single-window platform encompassing complete end-to-end logistics solutions to help exporters, importers, and service providers exchange documents seamlessly and transact business, the press release said.

CBIC’s ICEGATE (Customs Automated Portal) for various APIs such as Bill of Entry, Shipping Bill, etc. is integrated with ULIP. This has digitised the application filing, processing, and digitally signed delivery of AEO certification for AEO T1 applications by way of launching the AEO portal.

The road transport and highways ministry has planned 35 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs), 108 port connectivity projects, and 608 wayside amenities sites.

FASTag, an electronic toll collection system that employs radio frequency identification technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it or directly to the toll owner, has also been launched.

E-Air Way Bill (e-AWB) and the e-Cargo Security Declaration are digital measures taken by MoCA. Implementation of e-Gatepass is due in September 2024.

World Bank's Senior Transport Economist Jean-François Arvis praised the decisive efforts India is making in promoting digital interventions in the logistics sector.

He presented a key change in the LPI calculation approach that is being considered by the World Bank. In 2023, new Key Performing Indicators (KPIs) that would measure the actual speed of trade around the world were introduced.

He added that the new KPIs are derived from large global tracking datasets (Big Data) covering shipping containers, air cargo, and parcels.

Some of the big data sources include container tracking data, global postal data (international express and parcels managed by postal services), airline bill data by IATA, ship tracking data, import dwell time, export dwell time, airport dwell time, and postal delivery time.

DPIIT Special Logistics Secretary Sumita Dawra added that these initiatives, with targeted intervention, will improve logistics efficiency in the country.

The DPIIT and the Inter-Ministerial Dedicated Team would continue to work with the World Bank to understand the LPI evolving methodology, the press release said.