LEADS Index

Why in news?

• Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Index 2021.

About LEADS Index:

• The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report is aimed at gauging the logistics performance of states and Union Territories (UT) and identifying areas where they can improve logistics performance.
• It is based on a stakeholders’ survey conducted by Deloitte for the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.
• The index was launched in 2018.
• It is influenced by the World Bank’s biannual Logistics Performance Index (LPI).
• In the 2021 index, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab were emerged as best performing states with respect to mobility of goods and efficiency of logistics chain.

Why India need logistics ranking?

• Indian logistics costs are said to be among the highest in the world—in the vicinity of 13% of gross domestic product (GDP).
• Germany’s costs in comparison average just above 8% of its GDP, providing its industry a huge competitive edge in the global market.

Parameters:

• Ranking is done on the basis of parameters like competitiveness of pricing, track and trace, timeliness, regulatory process, safety of cargo, operating environment, availability of infrastructure and services etc.

PRELIMS QUESTION

LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) Index is released by:

(a) NITI Aayog

(b) Ministry of Finance

(c) Ministry of Commerce and Industry

(d) Ministry of External Affairs

Answer