Piyush Goyal felicitates LEAPS 2025 winners across 13 categories celebrating excellence in logistics and innovation
NEW DELHI : Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal felicitated the winners of LEAPS Awards 2025 across 13 categories spanning Core Logistics, MSMEs, Startups, Institutions and Special Categories at the LEAPS Awards 2025 and release of the LEADS Report 2025 in New Delhi.
Shri Goyal today also released the LEADS 2025 report at the LEAPS Awards 2025 ceremony. The event witnessed participation from senior government officials, industry associations, logistics stakeholders, startups, MSMEs, academic institutions, members of evaluation committees and representatives from the logistics ecosystem.
Shri Piyush Goyal while addressing the LEAPS Awards 2025 and release of the LEADS Report 2025, said India has covered 38 developed and prosperous economies through nine Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) over the last three and a half years, with four already operational and five more expected to come into force in the next 12 months. Minister said along with the FTAs concluded earlier with Japan, Korea and ASEAN countries, these agreements now cover more than two-thirds of global trade and economies.
Shri Goyal said India is also actively negotiating trade agreements with several countries and regions including Chile and Maldives, with both agreements expected to be concluded before the end of the year. He added that negotiations are also underway with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which will cover all six Gulf nations including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in addition to Oman and the UAE. The Minister further said India is in active discussions with Canada, Eurasia, Mexico, SACU and Mercosur to expand trade engagement and market access opportunities.
The Minister added India achieved an all-time high export figure of USD 863 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2026, despite global challenges including high tariffs, the continuing Ukraine conflict and the West Asia crisis. He noted that while global growth has slowed, India’s exports continued to grow, with services exports recording growth of around 8.5-9 per cent and overall exports growing by nearly 5 per cent over the previous year. He said the Government has now set an aspirational export target of USD 1 trillion for the current year, supported by the operationalisation of multiple FTAs and enhanced market access opportunities.
The Minister said the West Asia crisis, slowing global growth and other international disruptions should be viewed by India as opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce logistics costs, strengthen competitiveness and expand export markets. He stressed that continuous improvements in logistics, technology adoption and business processes would help India further enhance its export competitiveness and foreign exchange earnings.
Shri Piyush Goyal said Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken up reduction of logistics costs as an urgent national mission to make India globally competitive. He said investments in infrastructure, seamless logistics systems, faster transportation and improved delivery mechanisms are helping improve efficiencies, productivity and competitiveness. The Minister noted that both State Governments and private companies have contributed significantly towards strengthening the logistics ecosystem and expressed confidence that India can further reduce logistics costs through continued investments, innovation, startup-led solutions and improved efficiencies. He also highlighted that initiatives such as GST, decriminalisation of laws, reduction of compliance burdens and simplification of business processes are helping create a more seamless logistics and business environment in the country.
