The Union minister of commerce and industry felicitated winners of LEAPS Awards 2025 across 13 categories and released the LEADS 2025 report in New Delhi at a ceremony attended by senior officials, industry associations, logistics stakeholders, startups, MSMEs and academic institutions. The minister said the initiative recognised operational excellence, innovation and sustainability in logistics and provided a platform for expert committees and sector representatives to engage on reforms. The minister noted that India had covered 38 developed and prosperous economies through nine Free Trade Agreements over three and a half years, with four already operational and five expected to come into force within 12 months, and that these accords with earlier FTAs now covered more than two-thirds of global trade. He added that negotiations were under way with Chile and Maldives, expected to conclude before year end, and that discussions were active with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Eurasia, Mexico, SACU and Mercosur to expand market access. He highlighted that India achieved an all?time high of USD 863 billion (bn) in exports in the financial year ending 31 March 2026 despite global headwinds, and that services exports had recorded growth of around eight point five to nine per cent while overall exports rose by nearly five per cent. He said the government had set an aspirational export target of USD one trillion (tn) for the current year and that operationalisation of multiple FTAs and enhanced market access would support the objective. He emphasised that reduction of logistics costs was an urgent national mission, that investments in infrastructure, multimodality, technology adoption and simplification of compliance were improving efficiencies, and that states and the private sector were contributing to ecosystem strengthening. The LEADS 2025 report, he noted, used a more rigorous methodology with nearly 59 per cent weightage assigned to objective indicators and a four?tier performance framework to enable targeted reforms across States and Union Territories. The LEAPS awards acknowledged leadership across core logistics, MSMEs, startups, institutions and special categories, with winners including major freight operators, logistics technology providers and education institutes.