NEW DELHI: The commerce ministry released Logistics Performance Index (LPI) on Monday, ranking states in terms of the logistical support they provide to promote trade, a senior government official said.
Gujarat has topped the logistics index chart followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra based on the analysis of perception with regard to eight parameters, including infrastructure, services, regulatory process and safety of cargo.
Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu said that high cost in logistics is affecting India’s export competitiveness, adding, “We are working at making logistics a separate subject that could be handled independently by a ministry. Moreover, to improve the infrastructure and regulatory bottlenecks in states, the commerce industry is planning to rank states according to various performance indexes, which will help states in improving their ranking in terms of ease of doing business.
“The ministry will come out with a series of performance index for states. These indices will act as a tool for the ministry to identify problems where the centre can help the state,” said a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Prabhu added that there are many areas which determine the competitiveness of state in doing business, which includes scaling of capacity and productivity.
“The other indices will be availability of resources, including power and water, productivity, time to set up business in the state, which will come up in the next few months,” the official added.