By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, December 18 2023: Odisha may have emerged as the leading investment destination, but it has slipped to the ‘aspirer’ level among coastal states from ‘achiever’ in 2022 in performance in terms of logistics, according to according to the fifth LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) 2023 report unveiled by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently.

The report ranks states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, highlights the key logistics-related challenges faced by the stakeholders and includes suggestive recommendations,

While Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been labelled as achievers and Kerala and Maharashtra as fast movers, Odisha is among the three states, which have been categorised as aspirers. As per the report, logistics indicators like infrastructure, services and operating and regulatory environment in the state are below average.

Last year, Odisha has been graded as an Achiever within the Coastal cluster. The State has scored high across indicators related to Quality of Infrastructure (Road, Rail, Terminal and Warehouse Infrastructure). The state has scored above average on all other indicators related to Reliability of Logistics Services except for Safety/ security of cargo, which has been identified as an area where the state could improve.

Although there has been an improvement in the overall perception of the state’s logistics ecosystem since 2019 and the state is taking multiple proactive measures to enhance the overall efficiency of the logistics ecosystem, the indicator averages for this year have remained below the coastal group average. The Report indicated that the performance of the state in logistics infrastructure and logistics services indicators is below average.

While logistics infrastructure includes road, rail, terminal, first and last mile connectivity, warehouse and packaging, services indicators are transport, terminal, cost/pricing of logistics, timelines, skilled manpower, track and trace and safety and security. In the operating and regulatory environment, the state’s performance in government facilitation, warehousing approvals and ease of entry is below average and it is above average only in grievance redressal.

“Stakeholder inputs suggest potential areas for improvement, specifically in first/last-mile connectivity, availability of warehousing infrastructure, and packaging facilities within the state,” the report stated. Even as user satisfaction with the quality of transport and safety and security of cargo is higher compared to other indicators within the logistics services pillar, the availability of skilled manpower and price/cost of logistics have been perceived as lower in the state.

The state has, however, granted ‘industry’ status upon the logistics and warehousing sector and has additionally granted priority sector status to logistics to enhance its efficiency. “It could further enhance its engagement with industry stakeholders and improve the dissemination of information regarding various initiatives it has undertaken,” the report added.