Gujarat retains top rank in ease of logistics, Karnataka loses one slot

Releasing the report, Piyush Goyal said ease in logistics can lead the way to bring down the cost of logistics by 5% over the next five years

Gujarat has retained first place in the list of 21 states on the ease of logistics performance followed by Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

However, Karnataka slipped one place to eighth, compared to the previous ranking of 2019, with the state facing primary issues of poor road connectivity along key freight routes, inadequate parking and resting facilities for truck drivers, and insufficient logistics infrastructure. These factors have led to an increase in the logistics cost for traders and shippers in the state. This was revealed in the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report 2021.

Releasing the report, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said ease in logistics can lead the way to bring down the cost of logistics by 5 per cent over the next five years.

Referring to the recently launched PM GatiShakti Master Plan, he said that it would revolutionise the next generation of multimodal infrastructure development in the country.

He said that the speed of highway construction has increased three-fold from 12 km per day in 2013-14 to 37 km per day in 2020-21 and that there was a four-fold increase in railways capital expenditure from Rs 54,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 2.15 lakh crore in 2021-22. The minister said improving supply chain efficiencies and reducing logistics costs were fundamental to India capitalising on the strategic shift to a $5 trillion economy by 2025.

The report said Kerala and Karnataka have taken several initiatives to facilitate logistics infrastructure in the states. The resting facilities near Bangalore International Airport for traders, transporters, or drivers coming to the airport to receive or deliver cargo at a nominal charge has been a progressive step towards driver facilitation.

However, logistics stakeholders have highlighted that the logistics sector in Karnataka suffers from unlawful profiteering of transporter/trucker’s unions who do not allow trucks from other states to enter the states’ borders without charging extra money. These factors have led to an increase in the logistics cost for trader and shippers in the state.

For augmenting the infrastructure for the sector, Karnataka is developing a logistics park at Dobbaspet in Bengaluru and has already earmarked about 400 acres of land in Obalapura for a multi-modal logistics park. The State has also nominated a nodal agency for supporting logistics. A single window mechanism for expedited clearance of infrastructure investment proposals has been set up.

However, it lacks a focused approach towards logistics. State logistics policy/plan and institutional mechanism in the form of state logistics coordination committee and cell are needed to bolster the support to logistics sector in the state, the report said.

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