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India’s continuous investment in soft and hard infrastructure along with technology has paid off, the nation ascends by six places on the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) bagging 38th place in 2023 out of the 139 countries on the index. India in 2018 ranked 44, and before this, in 2014 the nation ranked 54th.
The policy intervention taken by the center like the National master plan for multimodal connectivity launched in October 2021 and the subsequently introduced National Logistics Policy (NLP) to solve transport issues, optimize manufacturing efficiency, and speed up last-mile delivery in the logistics sector have resulted in these positive outcomes.
In terms of infrastructure, India has moved up five places from 52nd to 47th in the 2018-2023 period, the report said. India’s rank in international shipments also ascended to 22nd rank, up from the previous 44th in 2018.
Furthermore, India’s logistics competence and equality also rose by four places bagging the 48th rank. India surged 17 spots for timelines and advanced to 38th place in tracking and tracing.
As per the report, modernization and digitalization are enabling emerging economies to leap over advanced ones.
“India since 2015, has invested in trade-related soft and hard infrastructure connecting port gateways on both coasts to the economic poles in the hinterland,” the report said adding that technology has been a critical component of this effort, with the implementation of supply chain visibility platform, which contributed to remarkable reductions of delays.
NICDC Logistics Data Services provides RFID (radio frequency) tagging on containers and enables end-to-end tracking for supply chain consignees.
The report highlighted that India’s implementation of effective tracking and tracing solutions allowed for shorter delays and decreased dwell time (2.6 days). It is to be noted that the average dwell time from May to October 2022 in India and Singapore was of three days for containers, which is better than in some developed countries. The United States had a seven-day dwell time, while Germany’s was 10.
The report further said that “With the introduction of cargo tracking, dwell time in the eastern port of Visakhapatnam fell from 32.4 days in 2015 to 5.3 days in 2019.”
Lower dwell time lowers the marine and vessel terminal operating costs. Any delays in a port can disrupt shipping schedules, affecting the entire service.
“End-to-end supply chain digitalization, especially in emerging economies, is allowing countries to shorten port delays by up to 70% compared to those in developed countries. Moreover, demand for green logistics is rising, with 75% of shippers looking for environment-friendly options when exporting to high-income countries,” the report said.
The LPI reviews 139 countries’ ease of establishing a supply chain and related structural factors such as infrastructure, logistics services, and border controls.
