The Cabinet has created the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority, or ITLA. It will work as a special purpose vehicle for the transport sector.

The body was set up on October 6. It will complement the PM GatiShakti national master plan for infrastructure. GatiShakti aims to coordinate planning across ministries.

ITLA will build a data repository for transport and logistics. It will draw on GSTN e-way bills, FASTag records, the Vahan vehicle database, and GPS-based systems. Urban traffic data will also feed into it.

The goal is better planning for freight movement. India wants to cut logistics costs, which are high compared to global standards. Better data should mean fewer empty trucks and faster cargo movement.

The authority is a new institutional step in logistics reform. How quickly it delivers usable data systems will be the real test. Industry will watch its first projects closely. Logistics costs in India are estimated at 13 to 14 percent of GDP. The government wants to bring this down to global levels. A unified data platform is seen as a key step toward that goal.