Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal released the “Logistics Ease Across Different State (LEADS) 2023” report, focusing on revolutionary reforms in the logistics sector. The report aims to guide states and union territories (UTs) toward enhancing logistics performance, aligning with the vision of a developed India (Viksit Bharat).
In the report, in terms of performance, Nagaland has been categorized as a ‘Fast Mover’ in LEADS 2023, indicating a substantial enhancement in the overall perception of the State’s logistics environment since LEADS 2019.
The State, according to the report, has been proactively undertaking a range of initiatives to boost the efficiency of its logistics ecosystem.
For ‘Logistics Infrastructure’ indicators except for ‘Quality & Adequacy of Terminal Infrastructure’ and ‘Availability of Warehouse Infrastructure’, the state was below the average performance assessment of North-East Group.
According to the report, Nagaland has undertaken various projects aimed at addressing the infrastructure gap in the logistics sector, which include the Modern Aggregation Centre at Longnak and Changtongya, and a Warehouse at Meluri, which are presently under implementation.
To further enhance the logistics infrastructure, the State could benefit from examining successful initiatives adopted by other similar states such as the development of a data-driven Logistics Master Plan, which would serve as a comprehensive framework for identifying and implementing identified interventions.
In terms of Logistics Services, the report saw that user perception for ‘Cost /Pricing of Logistics Services’, ‘Availability of Track and Trace Services’, and ‘Safety / Security of Cargo’ in Nagaland are above the North-East Group’s average. Meanwhile, user perception assessment for all the ‘Operating & Regulatory Environment’ indicators was above average of the North-East Group.
The report noted that the State is currently in the process of finalizing the logistics policy which is aimed at promoting the development of the sector, which shall contribute to the State’s overall performance improvement.
“The state has been actively engaging in ongoing dialogues with private stakeholders to effectively communicate and educate them about the state’s initiatives. This proactive engagement has positively impacted the state’s performance assessment,” the report said.
Goyal emphasized the report’s role in fostering healthy competition among states/UTs and highlighted key initiatives such as PM GatiShakti, ‘industry’ status for logistics, multimodal connectivity, and digital initiatives. He stressed the need for skill development, capacity building, and green logistics promotion. The minister projected the logistics sector as a cornerstone in achieving India’s tenfold growth to USD 35 trillion by 2047.
Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) is a unique initiative of the Government of India, focused on assessing the performance of the logistics eco-system across States and Union Territories (UTs). It provides valuable insights to States and UTs about key drivers of logistics performance, which States / UTs can leverage for effective policy and decision-making.
Within the North-East Group, Sikkim and Tripura have moved from Fast Movers to Achievers category while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have moved from Aspirers to Fast Movers. Assam has retained its Achiever status while Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram continue to be in the Aspirers category.
States / UTs were classified into three performance levels – Achievers, Fast Movers and Aspirers, based on their logistics performance.