Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary for Logistics at the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), India wants to climb the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) rankings to the top 25 by 2030. India improved its position from 44th in 2018 to 38th out of 139 countries in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index in April. The country aspires to be one of the top 25 countries by 2030.
The DPIIT is also negotiating with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to alter the formula used to determine the ranking under the LPI. The global bank's LPI is currently based on a rather arbitrary study. By explaining to the World Bank how we are utilising technology through the use of the Unified Logistics Integration Platform (ULIP) to improve logistics in the nation, Dawra continued, "We are trying to bring in objectivity. She was speaking in New Delhi at a press conference.
Dawra, DPIIT representatives have been in constant contact with World Bank representatives to emphasise the importance of using an objective-based methodology for LPI assessment. Six factors, including customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics prowess, tracking and tracing, and timeliness, are used by the World Bank to evaluate how well a country is performing. "We believe that this is a very limited manner of rating India on significant global indices, and that the calculations should take this amount of work into account. We have examined the variables and the process. In a press briefing, Dawra stated, "We would like the World Bank to include our efforts and changes that are helping to enhance logistics in India.
Additionally, she stated that a report on a framework to evaluate the cost of logistics in the nation is complete and would be made public by the end of the month in order to obtain an accurate cost estimate. According to government estimates, India's logistics expenditures account for 8–14% of its GDP. She added that the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and ADB have been working on the exercise. "Now we have a baseline estimate and from next year we will do a survey based thing to calculate the cost," she said.
