India's LEAPS 2025 Awards Celebrate Logistics Excellence as Goyal Unveils LEADS Report

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday honoured the winners of the Logistics Excellence, Advancement and Performance Shield (LEAPS) 2025 Awards and launched the LEADS 2025 report at a ceremony in New Delhi. The event, held to spotlight India's growing ambitions in logistics efficiency and export competitiveness, reinforced the government's commitment to transforming the country into a global trade powerhouse.

Speaking at the function organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Goyal outlined significant progress in India's trade diplomacy. He shared that India's Free Trade Agreements now span 38 developed economies across nine FTAs, with four already in force and five more expected to become operational within the next 12 months. He added that active negotiations are underway with key regions including the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Mexico, Chile, the Southern African Customs Union, and Mercosur, reflecting India's determination to broaden market access and deepen its global economic footprint.

Goyal also highlighted a landmark achievement in India's trade performance, announcing that the country recorded exports worth USD 863 billion in 2025-26.

Building on this momentum, the government has set an ambitious target of reaching USD 1 trillion in exports in the current financial year.

On the domestic front, the Minister reaffirmed that reducing logistics costs remains a top national priority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He pointed to a range of enabling measures including large-scale infrastructure development, GST rationalisation, accelerated digitisation, and ease of doing business reforms — as key drivers of improved supply chain efficiency. Notably, the decriminalisation of nearly 1,000 offences and the reduction of compliance burdens were cited as steps that are already delivering tangible improvements in operational performance across industries.

The LEADS 2025 report introduced a revamped four-tier classification framework for evaluating States and Union Territories on logistics performance. Under the new system, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, and Delhi earned the top designation of 'Exemplars' in their respective categories, recognising their outstanding progress in logistics infrastructure and service delivery.

Complementing the report, the LEAPS Awards celebrated excellence across a diverse range of segments including core logistics, MSMEs, startups, academic institutions, and special recognition categories. Notable winners included FedEx, MSC, Safexpress, DP World Rail Logistics, Delhivery, and IIM Mumbai, underscoring the breadth of innovation and performance driving India's logistics sector forward.