With the commitment to support individual states and union territories in the development of their logistics ecosystem and improve logistics efficiency, the Logistics Division, DPIIT, MoCI has developed the LEADS Report, which is an indigenous data driven index that practically measures the performance of States/UTs on logistics parameters. The Report becomes a guiding document to assess the current position of the States/UTs and also take remedial actions towards improving it. The LEADS Report 2022 was recently unveiled by the MoCI and our Special Feature this month attempts to translate the same for better understanding.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) launched the Logistics Ease Across Different States LEADS) Report in 2018 to rank states on the basis of their respective logistics ecosystems, highlight the challenges and shortcomings, while also suggesting remedial practices.
The Report in its essence will help the states take full benefit of the Gati Shakti National Master Plan as well as the recently launched National Logistics Policy. It was prepared with a joint effort by Ernst & Young (a multinational professional services partnership) and the Logistics Division, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), MoCI, Government of India.
THE REPORT – PAST AND PRESENT
LEADS 2018 focused on international trade (EXIM) and provided a useful starting point in assessing the efficiency of the logistics ecosystem in each State and UTs. With LEADS 2019, the Ministry expanded coverage to include both international and domestic trades. Both the initial Reports served the purpose of initiating a dialogue amongst all stakeholders, including Central and State Governments and also the private sector, to improve the efficiency of the States’/UTs’ logistics ecosystem.
Going a step ahead of LEADS 2018 and 2019, the report published last year focused on the analysis of the domestic and EXIM logistics ecosystem of the states. 4 years, 1 pandemic and many lockdowns later, the 4th version of LEADS Report was published earlier this month as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) celebrated 1 year of the Gati Shakti National Master Plan being launched.
For the 2022 Report, the survey was virtual as well as a physical one, wherein, apart from the public sector stakeholders, the ones from the private sector were also contacted. In fact, the 2022 survey witnessed the highest participation on part of the private sector, covering Shipper/Export/Importer, Logistics Service Providers (Freight forwarders, CHAs, Custom Brokers etc), Transport Service Providers (Truck operators etc) and Transport Infrastructure Service Providers (ICD/CFS operators, port operators, warehouse operators etc.). The aim is to understand the enablers and impediments of the logistics ecosystem in the country.
OVERVIEW OF LEADS 2021
As per the 2021 LEADS Report, pro-active policies, well-developed infrastructure and state government driven services helped Gujarat maintain itself at the top rank since LEADS 2019. Within the North-Eastern States and Himalayan UTs category, Jammu & Kashmir held the top spot, followed by Sikkim and Meghalaya. Delhi was given the highest ranking among other UTs, especially in the quality of multimodal terminals, and owing to the quality of road infrastructure & overall logistics services, Chandigarh stood at the 2nd rank. Uttar Pradesh was the highest gainer as it made a leap from 13th position in LEADS 2019 to 6th position in 2021. Haryana followed, moving from 6th (2019) to 2nd rank (2021). On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh took the plunge from 9th to 17th position and Assam moved down from 15th to 21st position, while comparing LEADS 2019 and 2021 respectively.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The LEADS Report is a combination of perception and objective data to arrive at a grading system for States/UTs using a statistical model. LEADS 2022 survey garnered meticulous insights through a much wider reach and deeper penetration into key markets across State/UTs. A total of 6,583 responses were received from 2,140 respondents through 600+ meetings facilitated through 20+ National and 75+ regional associations.
LEADS 2022 continues to focus on indicators introduced across 3 established pillars –Infrastructure, Services and Operating & Regulatory Environment.
- Infrastructure – covers 4 indicators related to quality of available Logistics Infrastructure
- Services – covers 7 indicators related to quality of service, price reasonableness (freight rates & terminal services), timeliness (transportation & terminal services), safety and security (transportation & terminal services) and track & trace
- Operating & Regulatory Environment – covers four indicators related to extent of facilitation offered by the State/ UT, ease of obtaining all approvals, inter-state border movement and clearance and last, efficiency of regulatory services.
What is new in the 2022 Report is the grading of the States and UTs into 3 categories in descending order namely Achievers, Fast Movers and Aspirers.
“State specific issues related to infrastructure, enforcement and regulations are highlighted in this report from the perspective of the service users. These findings have been welcomed by the States/UTs and I’m sure that recommendations of the 2021 report have been acted upon seriously by them, which is evident in the 2022 survey. This has also brought in healthy competition among the states and helped in improvement of the logistics infrastructure of the states.”
Mr. Amrit Lal Meena, Former Special Secretary for Logistics, DPIIT, MoCI, Government of India
“If you exclude terrain, you exclude the North Eastern states altogether, because that is a unique feature of that region. It influences every aspect of life in the North East. That being said, there is a lot of potential in the region, but there also is an infrastructural deficit. The inspection of this has been done by the concerned authorities like Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) and the North Eastern Council (NEC), who are incharge of assessment of infrastructural deficit, plus developing and executing plans regarding development of the region.”
Dr. Surendra Ahirwar, Joint Secretary (Logistics and Trade), DPIIT, MoCI, Government of India
This is an abridged version of the original story which was published in the November edition of the Logistics Insider magazine. To read the complete story, click here.
