The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the  World Bank Group organised a National Workshop on Logistics Efficiency Enhancement, on February 27, 2024, in New Delhi that brought together the logistics sector community to brainstorm and identify factors affecting logistics performance and areas of improvement.

The inaugural session of the workshop was held in the presence of Additional Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Rajeev S. Thakur; Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Shri E. Srinivas; Country Director, World Bank, Mr. Auguste Tano Kouame; and Country Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ms. Mio Oka. Over 100 participants from various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, officials from States, Multilateral Institutions, and Industry Associations participated in the event.

The workshop was divided into three sessions. Session I covered discussions on the approach and methodology adopted in the calculation of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) by the World Bank. During the session, representatives from the World Bank highlighted the change in the LPI calculation approach and new Key Performance Indicators  (KPIs) that would measure the actual speed of trade around the world, thereby moving from a perception-based survey methodology to a more data-based analysis.

Session II discussed the corridor approach including Bharatmala and Sagarmala Corridors which is enhancing logistics efficiency, bringing down logistics costs, and increasing first and last mile connectivity. While Bharatmala project is optimising the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country, by bridging critical infrastructure gaps, Sagarmala project is enabling port led industrialization and incentivizing employment generation.

During session III, officials from States shared best practices, reforms, and digital initiatives undertaken to improve logistics efficiency. They further highlighted the challenges faced by States in achieving goals outlined in their state logistics policies and key areas where support by the Central Government, private sector, and other stakeholders are needed.

This workshop greatly contributed to a better understanding of LPI calculation methodology and its six parameters. Deliberations on databases such as E-Way Bill, Fastag, etc. emerging from increased levels of digitisation to ease logistics operations in India, remained the central theme for the day, followed by the area-based economic corridor development approach adopted by different Ministries in India. The day’s discussions culminated into a consensus among concerned Ministries/Departments to develop focussed action plans for reducing logistics cost, improving logistics efficiency, addressing both hard and digital infrastructure bottlenecks in consultation with DPIIT and concerned stakeholders.

Logistics Performance Index methodology shifts to data-driven KPIs, prompting coordinated action plans to improve trade speed and connectivity. The workshop emphasized a shift to a data-driven Logistics Performance Index with new KPIs measuring actual trade speed, and endorsed the corridor approach-exemplified by Bharatmala and Sagarmala-to reduce logistics costs and enhance connectivity. State reforms and digital initiatives were shared, leading to consensus on developing focused action plans to tackle infrastructure and digital bottlenecks and coordinate implementation with DPIIT and stakeholders.