New Delhi, Oct 6: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, project appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment in the transport and logistics sectors.
The initiative seeks to address longstanding challenges arising from fragmented planning and implementation across multiple transport ministries and agencies.
The government said the ITLA would promote greater coordination and multimodal integration to improve the efficiency, sustainability and effectiveness of transport infrastructure development in the country.
The ITLA will function as the apex institution for integrated transport and logistics planning, research, project appraisal and monitoring, besides providing policy support and data analytics.
It will prepare a comprehensive National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of 10 years or more, covering 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 to ensure their alignment with the National Transport Master Plan and promote multimodal infrastructure development.
The ITLA will undertake technical appraisal of Government of India infrastructure projects costing Rs 500 crore or more. Financial appraisal of such projects will continue through existing mechanisms.
It will monitor the implementation of transport and infrastructure projects above Rs 500 crore and provide a coordinated mechanism for resolving issues. The authority will also undertake post-implementation impact assessments of such projects.
As part of the initiative, ITLA will build a National Transport Data Repository (NTDR) by integrating relevant transport and logistics datasets from multiple sources, including GSTN e-way bills, FASTag, Vahan, GPS-based systems and urban traffic management systems.
The repository will support data analytics, including freight-flow and origin-destination analysis, for planning, monitoring and impact assessment.
The authority will also advise and assist in the review and updation of the National Logistics Policy, 2022, besides undertaking capacity building, training and skilling in the logistics sector.
It will promote research and innovation in transport and logistics and support the adoption of international best practices.
The government said the establishment of ITLA would help strengthen multimodal connectivity, improve infrastructure efficiency, reduce logistics costs and enhance India’s global logistics competitiveness.
The authority is also expected to strengthen institutional capacity in research, planning, big-data integration, project monitoring and evaluation as part of the government’s Vision 2047.
