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India’s evolving logistics, warehousing, and cold-chain ecosystem is entering a critical phase, that will shape economic resilience, food security, and global competitiveness over the coming decades.
As supply chains grow in scale and complexity, logistics has become core infrastructure, linking farms to markets, factories to ports, businesses to consumers, and India to global value chains. The next phase will depend not just on building assets, but on how well they are planned, connected, and run.
This report examines India’s shift from capacity creation to system effectiveness. It details how coordinated planning, modern warehousing, integrated cold chain logistics, and digital platforms can drive faster, more reliable, and more cost-efficient logistics outcomes aligned with Vision 2047.
Over the past decade, India has made substantial investments in logistics infrastructure. The coming decade, however, will hinge on the ability of public and private stakeholders to operationalise these assets as a unified system.
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Regional cost disparities in logistics
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Despite the national average logistics cost being 7.97% of GDP¹, several regions across India face significantly higher logistics costs due to uneven infrastructure and connectivity.
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Capacity & infrastructure gaps
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Cold-chain infrastructure remains limited, with around 8,815 storage facilities and a capacity of 402.1 Lakh MT².
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Fragmented supply-chain planning
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Because planning was historically fragmented across departments, deep alignment gaps remain even with 1,652+ GIS layers³.
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Non-standardised warehousing quality
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Non-standard warehousing causes delays, higher costs, and inconsistent supply-chain performance.
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Cold chain imbalance & reefer underuse
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State-level demand mismatches persist, while refrigerated (reefer) transport remains significantly underutilised nationwide.
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Rural post-harvest inefficiencies
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Despite 55,748 post-harvest infrastructure units, fruit and vegetable losses remain high at around 6–15% and 4–12%, respectively⁴.
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Launched in October 2021, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan represents a shift in how logistics infrastructure is planned and delivered. By bringing together 46 ministries and over 1,600 geospatial data layers on a single digital platform, it allows more coordinated development across roads, railways, ports, aviation, and urban logistics.
Backed by the National Logistics Policy, ULIP, and the Logistics Data Bank, the framework is helping improve multimodal connectivity, reduce overlaps and approval delays, and gradually bring down logistics costs toward global benchmarks. Early evidence already points to declining logistics costs and improved corridor efficiency.
Despite recent progress, several constraints continue to affect logistics performance:
Fragmented infrastructure and limited multimodal integration.
Continued dependence on road-based freight due to coordination gaps across transport modes.
Limited adoption of automation.
Labour-intensive warehousing and logistics operations, resulting in higher error rates, longer turnaround times, and limited scalability.
India’s logistics system is changing as supply chains grow larger and more complex. Warehousing, logistics services, and cold chain infrastructure now directly shape how efficiently goods move across the country.
One of the biggest gaps lies in temperaturecontrolled infrastructure. Inadequate cold storage and refrigerated transport lead to high postharvest losses of fruits, vegetables, and other perishables. As capacity expands, the sector needs consistent standards for warehouse design, operating practices, and safety, rather than fragmented and uneven development.
Warehousing, especially the growth of Grade A facilities, has become central to the logistics system and a major source of logistics costs. Developers and operators are therefore focusing on modern facilities that meet compliance requirements, support automation, and improve throughput. Better layouts and processes help reduce dwell time and improve service reliability.
At the state level, governments are pushing logistics development through multimodal hubs, citylevel logistics planning, and public–private partnerships. By aligning these initiatives with PM Gati Shakti and the National Logistics Policy, states are improving connectivity and building more coordinated, networkbased supply chains.
Cold chain infrastructure is essential for food and pharmaceutical supply chains. By June 2025, India will have 8,815 cold storage units with a combined capacity of 402.18 lakh metric tonnes. These facilities include pre-cooling, controlled-atmosphere storage, blast freezing, and refrigerated transport.
Although capacity has grown, usage is still inconsistent. The current priority is to improve operations instead of building more facilities. This involves better temperature monitoring, reducing energy use, and strengthening connections between farms, storage sites, and markets. A dependable cold chain helps cut down on waste. It also supports meeting export standards, following regulations, and increasing farmers’ earnings.
India’s first comprehensive government-backed estimate places total logistics costs for FY 2023–24 at around INR 24 lakh crore. Road transport continues to dominate the cost structure, followed by warehousing, material handling, and administrative overheads.
This highlights a continued dependence on road freight, alongside under-utilisation of rail and waterways. Addressing this imbalance will require stronger multimodal integration and more efficient network planning.
Digital platforms, standardised infrastructure, and corridor-based development offer a clear pathway to rebalance the modal mix and improve cost efficiency.
Key drivers of efficiency including AI in warehousing, automation and digital integration are reshaping logistics operations across the value chain. The rise of Grade-A warehousing is improving predictability and operational efficiency through better design, compliance, and automation readiness. Pre-approved “grey” warehousing formats are also enabling faster deployment for high-growth sectors.
At the network level, investments in Dedicated Freight Corridors, inland waterways, and multimodal logistics parks planned as a unified system are reducing line-haul costs and variability.
Cold-chain modernisation is also gaining traction, with IoT-enabled monitoring and energy-efficient solutions improving temperature control and reliability.
Together, these developments reflect how government initiatives are strengthening India’s logistics ecosystem and enabling more coordinated, technology-driven growth.
Technology is becoming central to logistics planning and execution. AI-driven demand forecasting and routing, digital twins for warehouse and network design, and IoT-enabled visibility across storage and transport are improving decision-making.
Control tower models are enabling real-time coordination and faster response to disruptions, while platforms such as ULIP provide the digital backbone for interoperable, multimodal logistics.
Automation‑enabled Grade‑A warehousing and ready‑to‑lease (grey shell) facilities that compress go‑live timelines.
Integrated cold‑chain logistics linking pre‑cooling units, packhouses, cross‑docks, multi‑temperature hubs, and reefer fleets.
Digital control towers, digital twins, and utilisation analytics to optimise flows and reduce losses.
Interoperable platforms that enable FPOs, MSMEs, and large enterprises alike to access compliant infrastructure.
These elements move logistics from fragmented assets to a purpose‑designed national network.
Global examples show how integrated, technology-driven systems can make a difference. In the Netherlands, AI-powered farm-to-cold-chain networks help with traceability, compliance, and risk management. In the UK, automated cold warehouses use robots to boost productivity and save energy.
In India, companies such as WayCool Foods are building end-to-end digital supply chains, leveraging AI and enterprise platforms to reduce waste, improve farmers' incomes, and enhance reliability.
To align with Vision 2047, India’s logistics sector will need to move toward integrated and resilient systems. This includes investment in climate-resilient, automation-ready infrastructure and expansion of digitally enabled cold-chain networks.
Greater standardisation across warehousing, deeper adoption of advanced technologies, and continued focus on skills development will be essential. Stronger coordination among institutions and regulators will also play a critical role in sustaining momentum.
India’s logistics and cold-chain ecosystem is at an inflexion point. As supply chains become more complex and climate risks intensify, efficiency, resilience, and transparency will depend on greater integration and smarter use of technology.
By shifting from fragmented assets to a coordinated, technology-enabled system, India can build a resilient, globally competitive logistics backbone that strengthens food security, supports inclusive growth, and aligns with its long-term ambition to become a developed economy by 2047.
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