The Cabinet on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) approved a proposal to set up an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority (ITLA), Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The authority will function as the apex body for integrated transport and logistics planning, research, project appraisal and monitoring, policy support and data analytics. The ITLA will prepare a long-term Transport Plan covering roads, railways, ports and shipping, civil aviation, inland waterways, coastal shipping, urban mobility and logistics, Mr. Vaishnaw said.

The decision to set up the ITLA was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet "approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), namely, Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of transportation and logistics," an official statement said.

The approval seeks to address long-standing challenges arising from fragmented planning and implementation across multiple transport-related Ministries and agencies. By fostering greater coordination and multi-modal integration, the ITLA is expected to enhance the efficiency, sustainability and effectiveness of transport infrastructure development in India.

The authority will evaluate short-term sectoral plans (of about five years) and annual plans of transport Ministries to ensure consistency and alignment with the National Transport Master Plan, and promote multi-modal infrastructure development. It will also undertake technical appraisal of government infrastructure projects costing ₹500 crore or more. Financial appraisal will continue to be carried out through existing mechanisms.

The authority will monitor the implementation of transport and infrastructure projects worth more than ₹500 crore, and provide a coordinated mechanism for issue resolution. It will undertake a post-implementation impact assessment of these projects.

The ITLA will build a unified transport data repository, by obtaining relevant transport and logistics data sets from multiple sources, including the GST Network (GSTN) e-way bill, FASTag, Vahan, GPS-based systems, urban traffic management systems and other relevant databases, and carry out data analytics for planning, monitoring and impact assessment.

It will also advise and assist in the review and updating of the National Logistics Policy (2022), and in capacity building, training and skilling in the logistics sector.