India to pitch for changes to West Bengal Logistics Index
NEW DELHI : India is looking closely at the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index to identify gaps and pitch for changes while focussing on areas it is lagging in, people familiar with the development said.
Officials said the present perception-based methodology captures India’s reforms such as Logistics Data Bank and Unified Logistics Interface Platform in a limited manner and that information on sample size and sub-indices is not available in the public domain.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) also plans to onboard a consultancy to liaison with the World Bank to suggest areas of improvement to make the methodology comprehensive that adequately captures India’s reforms in logistics.
“Onboarding of a dedicated team of 5-6 experts is being planned. These experts will help undertake comprehensive research of the gaps and target interventions required across the logistics ecosystem, with focus on the six parameters of the LPI,” said Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary (logistics), DPIIT.
Customs, infrastructure, timeliness, ease of arranging shipments, quality of logistics services and tracking & tracing are the six parameters of this index.
“A need is also felt to understand the approach and methodology in developing the LPI,” the official said, adding that the plan is to identify measures and create a road map for their effective on-ground implementation to enhance India’s performance.
LPI is a benchmarking tool to help countries identify challenges and opportunities in their performance on trade logistics.
India ranked 38 on the LPI in 2023, moving up from 44 in 2018 and 54 in 2014.
India’s rank moved up five notches in infrastructure to 47 in 2023 from 52 in 2018, and rose to 22 for international shipments in 2023 from 44 in 2018 due to modernisation and digitalisation.
New Delhi hopes to break into the top 25 on the index, which covers 139 countries, by 2030.
“Reforms like National Logistics Policy and PM GatiShakti National Master Plan are key steps which will further help improve our ranking and need to be adequately captured,” said the official.
Economic think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has estimated India’s logistics cost in FY22 between 7.8% and 8.9% of the gross domestic product. The government has over the past few years taken several measures to bring ease of logistics including customs clearances.