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Transport and logistics

How people and goods move: transport planning, travel surveys, tolls and the bodies that coordinate roads, rail, ports and logistics.

Asked before

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See all: Prelims 1 · Prelims 2 · Mains

Cabinet creates an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority to plan roads, rail, ports and airports together

Copy link to Cabinet creates an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority to plan roads, rail, ports and airports together

StandardPrelims and Mains31 Oct 2026

What it is

  • Separate ministries run roads, railways, ports, airports and waterways. Each adds capacity on its own plan.
  • The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan of 2021 put every ministry's projects on one digital map, and the National Logistics Policy of 2022 set the goal of cutting logistics costs. Neither gave anyone the power to test one ministry's project against another's.
  • The Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority is that body. The Union Cabinet approved it in October 2026 as a special purpose vehicle, a company set up for one task, to plan, appraise and monitor transport projects across ministries.
Where the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority fits A special purpose vehicle approved by the Union Cabinet in October 2026. It appraises and monitors. It does not fund. Transport ministries Roads, railways, ports, airports and waterways each prepare five year sectoral plans and annual plans. Each adds capacity on its own plan today. The Authority Prepares a National Transport Master Plan of ten years or more. Tests every ministry plan against it. Technically appraises and monitors Central projects of ₹500 crore and above. Finance bodies The Public Investment Board and the finance wings keep financial appraisal: how to pay for a project the Authority has found needed, sized right and placed right. National Transport Data Repository Built by the Authority from e way bills, FASTag, Vahan and GPS data. Together they show where freight actually flows, a picture no ministry plan has used so far.
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What happened

FunctionWhat the Authority does
PlanningPrepares a National Transport Master Plan with a horizon of ten years or more, covering every major mode
Checking plansTests the five year sectoral plans and the annual plans of the transport ministries against the master plan
AppraisalTechnically appraises Central projects of ₹500 crore and above. Financial appraisal stays with the existing bodies
MonitoringTracks projects above ₹500 crore, resolves bottlenecks and assesses impact after completion
DataBuilds a National Transport Data Repository from e way bills, FASTag, Vahan and GPS data

Why it matters

  • Freight moves across modes, but India builds transport by mode. A single master plan is the first attempt to decide where a road, a rail line and a port should meet before each is built.
  • The Authority appraises but does not fund. The Authority's weight will depend on whether a ministry must follow its advice, and on whether the States, which own most of the last mile, join the master plan.

Exam lens

  • Prelims:
    • A special purpose vehicle approved by the Cabinet in October 2026.
    • Prepares a National Transport Master Plan with a horizon of ten years or more.
    • Technically appraises and monitors Central projects of ₹500 crore and above; financial appraisal stays where it is.
    • National Transport Data Repository from e way bills, FASTag, Vahan and GPS data.
    • Builds on PM GatiShakti (2021) and the National Logistics Policy (2022).
  • Mains: "India builds transport by mode, but freight moves across modes." How can an integrated authority help, and what are its limits?

Asked before: Mains 2022 GS2

Show the questions
  1. Mains 2022 GS2: The Gati-Shakti Yojana needs meticulous coordination between the government and the private sector to achieve the goal of connectivity. Discuss.

Connects to

Sources
  • The Hindu, 6 October 2026
  • PIB, 6 October 2026

Settled facts (dates of Acts, constitutional provisions, standing definitions) are from standard references.

A ₹1,500 annual toll pass for people living within 20 km of a highway plaza

Copy link to A ₹1,500 annual toll pass for people living within 20 km of a highway plaza

BriefPrelims31 Oct 2026

The Road Transport Ministry notified a Concessional Local Pass in October 2026 for private vehicle owners living within 20 km of a national highway fee plaza. It takes effect on 1 November 2026.

  • The annual fee is ₹1,500 for a plaza outside town limits and ₹3,000 for one within them. The pass works at one plaza only.
  • It needs a working FASTag. It is not available where a service road exists, or on closed toll systems that charge by distance.
  • The rules are the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, under the National Highways Act, 1956.

Exam lens: the pass under the National Highways Act, 1956; 20 km, ₹1,500 and ₹3,000; FASTag required; not on closed toll systems.

Sources
  • PIB, 27 October 2026

India's first National Household Travel Survey: buses carry 55.8 per cent of overnight trips, two wheelers 42.6 per cent of work trips

Copy link to India's first National Household Travel Survey: buses carry 55.8 per cent of overnight trips, two wheelers 42.6 per cent of work trips

BriefPrelims and Mains31 Oct 2026

The National Statistics Office released India's first National Household Travel Survey in October 2026. The survey covered about 4.9 lakh households between July 2025 and June 2026 and asked how people travel for work and for overnight journeys.

  • Buses dominate overnight journeys and two wheelers the journey to work, as the figure shows. Most overnight trips are social or religious. Tourism and leisure make up a small share.
  • Women travel shorter distances to work than men. A short radius limits the jobs a woman can take.

Exam lens: the survey is by the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; bus against rail shares of overnight travel; the two wheeler share of work trips; the gender gap in commuting distance.

How India travels: the first National Household Travel Survey National Statistics Office, released October 2026. Shares of trips. 55.8% Overnight journeys by bus Inter city rail carries 17.7 per cent. 7 in 10 Overnight trips for social or religious reasons Tourism and leisure make up only 7.4 per cent. 42.6% Trips to work by two wheeler Rising to 52.3 per cent in cities. 41.9% against 61.9% Women workers against men who travel more than a kilometre to work A short radius limits the jobs a woman can take. about 4.9 lakh Households surveyed, July 2025 to June 2026 By the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
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Sources
  • The Hindu, 6 October 2026
  • PIB, 5 October 2026