Union Cabinet approves Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority to unify transport planning

The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of a new central body, the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority (ITLA), to end fragmented infrastructure planning and force India's transport ministries to plan projects together.

Set up as a special purpose vehicle, the authority will oversee long-term transport planning, evaluate multi-million-pound projects, and build a unified data repository. The decision, taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to align planning across roads, railways, aviation, ports, shipping, and urban transport.

Why a unified planning body is needed

Under the new system, the authority will draft a comprehensive National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of 10 to 30 years. It will also evaluate five-year and annual plans of individual ministries to ensure they align with this national strategy.

"The requirement of logistics is increasing," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the meeting, explaining the logic behind the new body. "Practically, if GDP grows by 7%, the logistics requirement grows by 10%."

Vaishnaw said planners must look decades ahead rather than working in isolation. "All the major infrastructure ministries, all the infrastructure sectors, should come together as a comprehensive, synergistic group and plan transport," he said.

Assessing major projects and tracking results

One of the authority's most significant tasks will be the technical appraisal of all government infrastructure projects costing Rs 500 crore or more. While existing bodies will continue to handle financial clearances, the ITLA will evaluate whether these massive projects make technical sense in the context of future national requirements.

It will also monitor these major projects and provide a coordinated mechanism to resolve disputes that delay construction.

Once a project is completed, the ITLA will conduct post-implementation assessments to find out if the investment actually delivered its promised economic benefits. "If a highway has been built, what benefit did it give? If a railway line has been doubled, what benefit did it give? If a port has been built, what benefit did it give?" Vaishnaw said.

Building a national transport data repository

To make planning decisions more scientific, the authority will construct a National Transport Data Repository. This will pull together existing tracking databases including Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) e-way bills, FASTag, Vahan, GPS tracking, and city traffic management systems to map actual freight flows and transport bottlenecks.

"All this data has to be taken together in an integrated way so that planning becomes data-based and data-driven," Vaishnaw said.

The creation of the ITLA builds on recent government initiatives like the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, launched in 2021, and the National Logistics Policy of 2022. The government expects the new authority to help update that logistics policy, run training programmes, and ultimately reduce India's overall supply-chain costs.