The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the setting up of the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority (ITLA). It will be a Special Purpose Vehicle for integrated planning across transport and logistics.ITLA will work as the apex body for research, planning, project appraisal, monitoring and data analytics in transport and logistics. The government said it will fix the long-standing problem of fragmented planning across different ministries and agencies.A key job of the authority will be to prepare a National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of ten years or more. The plan will cover roads, railways, ports and shipping, civil aviation, inland waterways, coastal shipping, urban mobility and logistics.ITLA will also vet technical plans for central government infrastructure projects costing Rs 500 crore or more. Financial appraisal will continue through the existing mechanisms.Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the body would bring better coordination and multi-modal integration. The next step will be to staff the authority and make it operational.