Cabinet approves Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the setting up of the Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA) as a Special Purpose Vehicle to strengthen research, planning, project appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment across India’s transportation and logistics sectors.

The authority is intended to address challenges arising from fragmented planning and implementation across multiple transport Ministries and agencies. It will serve as a specialised institutional mechanism for long-term integrated planning and will complement existing initiatives such as the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and the National Logistics Policy.

ITLA will function as the apex institution for integrated transport and logistics planning, research, project appraisal and monitoring. It will also provide policy support and data analytics to support coordinated decision-making across the transport sector.

A key responsibility of ITLA will be to prepare a comprehensive National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of 10 years or more. The plan will cover roads, railways, ports and shipping, civil aviation, inland waterways, coastal shipping, urban mobility and logistics.

The authority will also evaluate short-term sectoral plans of around five years and annual plans of transport Ministries. This will help ensure that these plans are aligned with the National Transport Master Plan and support multimodal infrastructure development.

ITLA will undertake technical appraisal of Government of India infrastructure projects costing Rs 5 billion or more. Financial appraisal of these projects will continue through the existing financial appraisal mechanisms.

The authority will monitor transport and infrastructure projects costing above Rs.500 crore and provide a coordinated mechanism for resolving issues. It will also conduct post-implementation impact assessments to evaluate project outcomes and performance.

Another major responsibility will be the creation of a National Transport Data Repository (NTDR). ITLA will develop a unified repository by integrating relevant transport and logistics datasets from sources including GSTN e-way bills, FASTag, Vahan, GPS-based systems and urban traffic management systems.

The data will be used for analytics such as freight-flow and origin-destination analysis to support planning, monitoring and impact assessment. The government said the repository will support evidence-based planning, research and innovation across the transport and logistics ecosystem.

ITLA will also advise and assist in the review and updating of the National Logistics Policy 2022. Its responsibilities will include capacity building, training and skilling in the logistics sector, as well as promoting research and innovation in transport and logistics.

According to the government, ITLA will provide a central institutional mechanism for research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment across transport and logistics. It is also expected to improve coordination among Ministries dealing with transport and logistics, including in infrastructure planning, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation.

The government said the approach follows global practices in countries including Korea, Japan, the US, China and Australia. ITLA will also strengthen institutional capacity in research, planning, big data integration, project monitoring and evaluation, while supporting the adoption of international best practices.

The establishment of ITLA is expected to support India’s Vision 2047 by strengthening multimodal connectivity, improving infrastructure efficiency, reducing logistics costs and enhancing the country’s global logistics competitiveness.