Logistics indicators for states, UTs soon

Centre appoints Deloitte to identify parameters

The government is set to work on the country’s own Logistics Performance Index (LPI) for states, on the lines of what the World Bank does for countries. It has asked consultancy firm Deloitte to design indicators on which states will be rated.

The Ministry of Commerce has asked Deloitte to benchmark states in terms of facilitating access to international markets for all export and import cargo. The performance would be compared to parameters like ease of arranging logistics, quality, cost, efficiency and timeliness. 

Indicators will be identified based on information on logistics and trade from all 36 states and Union Territories, after evaluation of the chain linking to international gateways. Importantly, the indicators will consider interventions in the domain of state governments and impacting the movement of goods or the cross-sector interoperability of logistics services across state borders.

Though it will be predominantly for trade-related logistics, it could also indicate the general level of logistics infrastructure in a state, based on which investment decisions could be taken by the companies.

Deloitte has been asked to identify five to seven macro heads that will have micro-level indicators. When asked, a Deloitte partner confirmed the assignment but did not give details, saying it was too early to comment.

The Ministry of Commerce has asked Deloitte to take the World Bank index as a reference. It is considered important to improve the country’s ranking in LPI of the Bank. The draft will be first presented to a steering committee, after which the final indicators will be fine-tuned. Deloitte will also be required to organise workshops and discussions for creating awareness about the indicators. 

Improvement in export services had pushed India 19 places higher in the World Bank group’s LPI. In 2016, it stood at 35th position, based on six criteria that impact export shipments, among 160 countries. The LPI is prepared by the Bank’s trade and competitiveness group every two years, since 2007. India’s overall LPI score rose from 3.07 in 2014 to 3.42 in 2016, of a maximum five points. First in the ranking was Germany; the last was Syria. 

The parameters cover efficiency of Customs and border management clearance, quality of trade and transport infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, competence and quality of logistics services, ability to track and trace consignments and frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times.