Context: India has improved its ranking in the World Bank's Logistic Performance Index(LPI) 2023 by six places, owing to significant investments in both soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology, which has led to an improvement in the country's port performance.

• According to the report, India's rank in the index of 139 countries has risen to 38 from 44 in 2018.

• In 2023, India's ranking for international shipments improved significantly, moving up from 44 in 2018 to 22. 

• The country also climbed four places to rank 48 in logistics competence and equality.

About Logistics Performance Index (LPI)

• It is released by World Bank.

• It is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.

• It measures the ease of establishing reliable supply chain connections and structural factors that make it possible, such as the quality of logistics services, trade and transport-related infrastructure, as well as border controls.

Key highlights of LPI 2023

• The LPI 2023 allows for comparisons across 139 countries.

• The LPI 2023, for the first time, measures the speed of trade with indicators derived from big datasets tracking shipments.

• Singapore and Finland are the most efficient and highest-ranked LPI countries as per the 2023 LPI.

• India is ranked 38 out of 139 countries, climbing six places from the previous index.

• Two major factors for India's jump in the index could be modernisation and digitalisation, which the report quotes as a reason for emerging economies like India to leapfrog advanced countries.

Overview of the Logistics Industry in India

• Meaning: Broadly, logistics is the time, resources, and money invested in storing and transporting a commodity from its origin to its destination. 

• The logistics industry in India is growing rapidly, with the country’s economy expanding at a rapid pace.

• India’s logistics sector is estimated to account for about 14.4% of the GDP. The unorganized sector amounts to over 90% of the logistics sector.

• The average logistics cost per GDP among BRICS countries was 11%. However, in the case of India, the cost share per GDP was 14%.

• The sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% between FY 2019 and FY 2024.

• The sector employs around 22 million people and is expected to create another 1.2 million jobs by 2025.

Government Scheme to Improve India’s logistics sector

• National Logistics Policy: It is a comprehensive effort to address issues of high cost and inefficiency by laying down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional framework for the development of the entire logistics ecosystem.

• PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for muti-modal connectivity: It aims to give further boost and complementarity with the launch of the National Logistics Policy.

Other Related Initiatives to Logistics

• Multi-Modal Logistics Parks

• Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report

• Dedicated Freight Corridor

• Sagarmala Projects

• Bharatmala Project

• Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act, 1993