India climbed up six places in the World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index 2023, as investments in soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology helped the country improve its port performance. India is now ranked 38 in the 139 countries index, up from 44 in 2018, said a report Friday.
India climbed up six places in the World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index 2023, as investments in soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology helped the country improve its port performance. India is now ranked 38 in the 139 countries index, up from 44 in 2018, said a report Friday.
The 2018 report ranked each country separately. “The government of India 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.
While India’s rank slipped in customs performance to 47 from 40 in 2018, it moved five places in infrastructure to 47 from 52.
It was ranked 22 for international shipments in 2023 from 44 in 2018 and moved four places up to 48 in logistics competence and equality. In timelines, the country witnessed a 17 place jump in rankings, whereas it moved three places in rank in tracking and tracing to 38.
Modernisation and digitalisation was quoted as a reason for emerging economies, like India, to leapfrog advanced countries, according to the report.
The average dwell time for containers between May and October 2022 was three days for India and Singapore, much better than some of the industrialised countries, according to the report. The dwell time for the US was seven days and for Germany was 10 days.
“End-to-end supply chain digitalisation, especially in emerging economies, is allowing countries to shorten port delays by up to 70% compared to those in developed countries,” the release said.
“Moreover, demand for green logistics is rising, with 75% of shippers looking for environmentally friendly options when exporting to high income countries,” it added.
“While most time is spent in shipping, the biggest delays occur at seaports, airports, and multimodal facilities. Policies targeting these facilities can help improve reliability,” said Christina Wiederer, senior economist, World Bank’s Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice.
The Indian government had announced PM Gati Shakti initiative, a National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, in October 2021 to reduce logistics cost and boost the economy by 2024-25.
“Logistics are the lifeblood of international trade, and trade in turn is a powerful force for economic growth and poverty reduction,” said Mona Haddad, global director for trade, investment and competitiveness at World Bank.
The seventh edition of Connecting to Compete, the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) report, comes after three years due to Covid-19 pandemic-led disruptions.
The LPI, which covers 139 countries, measures the ease of establishing reliable supply chain connections and the structural factors that make it possible, such as the quality of logistics services, trade- and transport-related infrastructure, and border controls.
