Piyush Goyal releases LEADS 2025, honours LEAPS winners

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal felicitated the winners of the LEAPS Awards 2025 across 13 categories at a ceremony held in New Delhi today. The awards recognised excellence, innovation and best practices across India’s logistics ecosystem. On the same occasion, he also released the LEADS 2025 report, which benchmarks logistics performance across States and Union Territories.

The event, organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, brought together senior government officials, industry associations, logistics stakeholders, startups, MSMEs, academic institutions and representatives from across the logistics sector.

Addressing the gathering, Goyal said India has covered 38 developed and prosperous economies through nine Free Trade Agreements over the last three and a half years. He said four agreements are already operational, while five more are expected to come into force within the next 12 months. He added that along with earlier FTAs with Japan, Korea and ASEAN countries, these agreements now cover more than two-thirds of global trade and economies.

He further said India is actively negotiating trade agreements with several countries and regions, including Chile and Maldives, which are expected to be concluded before the end of the year. He added that discussions are also underway with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), covering all six Gulf nations including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. He also said negotiations are progressing with Canada, Eurasia, Mexico, SACU and Mercosur to expand market access and trade opportunities.

Goyal said India recorded an all-time high export figure of $863 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2026, despite global challenges such as high tariffs, the Ukraine conflict and the West Asia crisis. He noted that exports continued to grow even as global growth slowed, with services exports rising by around 8.5 to 9% and overall exports increasing by nearly 5% over the previous year. He added that the government has set an aspirational export target of $1 trillion for the current year.

He said global disruptions should be seen as opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce logistics costs, strengthen competitiveness and expand export markets. He stressed that improvements in logistics, technology adoption and business processes will further enhance India’s export performance and foreign exchange earnings.

The Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the reduction of logistics costs a national mission to improve global competitiveness. He highlighted that investments in infrastructure, faster transport systems and improved logistics networks are helping enhance efficiency and productivity. He also noted the role of state governments and private companies in strengthening the logistics ecosystem.

He added that initiatives such as GST, decriminalisation of laws, reduction of compliance burdens and simplification of business processes are creating a more seamless logistics environment. Goyal said India’s strengths include its democratic framework, large domestic market, young population, strong digital infrastructure and skilled workforce. He noted that India produces 1.4 million STEM graduates annually and has become a major hub for Global Capability Centres, with around 1,700 to 1,800 already operational and about 500 more in the pipeline.

He further said global companies are increasingly looking at India for innovation, research and development and competitive manufacturing and services, supported by its talent pool, lower costs and strong digital ecosystem.

Referring to ease of doing business reforms, he said nearly 1,000 offences have been decriminalised through the Jan Vishwas Bill and around 42,000 compliance burdens have been reduced. He added that further efforts are underway to simplify procedures and digitise government processes.

He also said India is increasingly using digital platforms and videoconferencing in trade negotiations and governance to improve efficiency. He urged all stakeholders to work together towards nation building and strengthening India’s global competitiveness.

Earlier, Secretary, DPIIT Amardeep Singh Bhatia said LEAPS 2025 recognises organisations driving transformation in logistics through innovation, digitisation, sustainability and operational excellence. He said an efficient logistics ecosystem is key to improving India’s global competitiveness and reducing logistics costs.

LEAPS 2025, the fourth edition of the initiative, aligns with the PM GatiShakti vision and the National Logistics Policy, promoting multimodality, efficiency, technology adoption and sustainable logistics practices.

The LEADS 2025 report, also released by Goyal, is DPIIT’s flagship assessment of logistics performance across States and Union Territories. It serves as a benchmarking tool under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and National Logistics Policy, supporting data-driven reforms.

The seventh edition of LEADS introduces a revised four-tier classification system to better assess logistics performance. The categories include Exemplars, High Performers, Accelerators and Growth Seekers.

Under Exemplars, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram and Delhi were recognised. High Performers include Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Tripura, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. Accelerators include Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Ladakh and Lakshadweep. Growth Seekers include West Bengal, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The LEAPS 2025 winners across categories included FedEx Express Transportation and Supply Chain Services (India) for Air Freight Service Provider, MSC Agency India for Maritime Freight Service Provider, Safexpress for Road Freight Service Provider, DP World Rail Logistics for Rail Freight Service Provider, Paradeep Parivahan for Multimodal Transport Operators, TVS Industrial and Logistics Parks for Warehouse Service Provider (Industrial and Consumables), Indicold for Warehouse Service Provider (Agriculture), Shipwaves Online for MSME Logistics Service Provider, MatchLog Solutions and Yellowings Delivery Services in startup categories, IIM Mumbai as Education Institute promoting logistics sector, Delhivery for e-commerce logistics delivery services and Indev Infra for multimodal logistics service provider.