- Why in news
- On May 28, 2026 (reported May 29), Sarbananda Sonowal launched the Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY 2024-25 at JNPA's 37th Foundation Day in Mumbai, with four digital maritime initiatives.
- What it is
- The Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) is a national benchmarking tool for Indian ports, built under the Sagar Aankalan framework of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It rates ports on operational efficiency and year-on-year improvement. It supports PM Gati Shakti, Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
- Framework
- LPPI is developed under the Sagar Aankalan framework as a national benchmarking mechanism for Indian ports.
- Segments and indicators
- Ports are assessed in dry bulk, liquid bulk and container cargo, using indicators such as vessel turnaround time, berth idle time and container dwell time.
- Weightage
- Absolute performance and year-on-year improvement get equal weightage.
- Top performers FY 2024-25
- Paradip led dry bulk, Sikka Port and Terminals led liquid bulk, and Mundra was top in containers, with JNPA second among major container ports.
- Alignment
- The index aligns with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
- Ship Recycling Credit
- Owners recycling ships at Hong Kong Convention-compliant Indian yards get a credit note worth 40% of scrap value, usable for new Indian shipbuilding.
Don’t confuse with LPPI vs World Bank LPI: LPPI is India's domestic index ranking Indian ports. The Logistics Performance Index is a World Bank cross-country ranking of trade logistics.
Don’t confuse with LPPI vs Container Port Performance Index: The Container Port Performance Index covers global container ports and is published by the World Bank; LPPI covers Indian ports across three cargo types.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Benchmarking pushes ports to cut turnaround and dwell times, lowering logistics costs.
- Equal weight on improvement rewards ports that are catching up, not just large ones.
Problems
- Hinterland rail and road connectivity limits gains from port efficiency alone.
- Ranking ports of very different size and cargo mix fairly is hard.
Way forward
- Link LPPI results to investment and incentives, and publish data regularly.
- Integrate port data with PM Gati Shakti for multimodal planning.
Put in your answer
India in World Bank LPI: India's rank in the International Shipments category improved from 44th to 22nd, as cited by the Minister.
JNPA performance: JNPA crossed 8 million TEUs and handled over 102 million tonnes in FY 2025-26.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: New national port benchmarking index under the Sagar Aankalan framework; infrastructure index with few testable facts, so no practice question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.