LOGISTICS DATA BANK PROJECT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held a Logistics Data Bank Project (LDB) Meeting to review the measures taken by Port Authorities to improve port performance. 

• Development of infrastructure on PM GatiShakti principles for adequate last and first mile connectivity, improvement of logistics services and enhancing port capacities to handle requisite trade volumes, etc. to be focus areas for port-level strategic planning and future development.

Logistics Data Bank Project

• About: On July 1, 2016, the LDB project was launched at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai. 
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Objectives: The project launched to make India’s logistics sector more efficient through the use of Information Technology.
• Implementation: The LDB is being implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle called Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Logistics Data Services Ltd. (DLDSL) - that is jointly (50:50) owned by the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Trust and Japanese IT services major NEC Corporation.
• Key features: The facility - where every container is attached to a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) tag and then tracked through RFID readers - aids importers and exporters in tracking their goods in transit. 
• This has, in turn, cut the overall lead time of container movement as well as reduced transaction costs that consignees and shippers incur.
• It is billed as a major ‘ease of doing business’ initiative aimed at boosting India’s foreign trade and ensuring greater transparency.
• The project covers “the entire movement (of containers) through rail or road till the Inland Container Depot and Container Freight Station,” the shipping ministry had said, adding that the service integrates information available with the agencies across the supply chain to provide detailed, real-time information within a single window.