Port Community System ‘PCS1x’

• 12 Dec 2018

Indian Ports Association (IPA), under the guidance of Ministry of Shipping has launched the Port Community System (PCS1x), a cloud based new generation technology, with user-friendly interface.

• This system will enable maritime trade to have an improved communication with the customs.
• It offers value added services such as notification engine, workflow, mobile application, track and trace, better user interface, better security features, improved inclusion by offering dashboard for those with no IT capability.
• A unique feature of ‘PCS1x’ is that it can sync with the third party software which provides services to the maritime industry thereby enabling the stakeholders to access wide network of services.
• Another major feature is the deployment of a world class state of the art payment aggregator solution which removes dependency on bank specific payment ecosystem. It is estimated that this feature alone will drastically reduce transaction time.
• The platform has the potential to revolutionize maritime trade in India and bring it at par with global best practices and pave the way to improve the Ease of Doing Business world ranking and Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranks.
• This system is also an initiative that supports green initiatives by reducing dependency on paper. The web-based platform has been developed indigenously and is a part of the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiative.

Logistics Performance Index (LPI)

• The Logistics Performance Index, developed by the World Bank Group, is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.
• The logistics performance (LPI) is the weighted average of the country's scores on the six key dimensions:
  • Efficiency of the clearance process (i.e., speed, simplicity and predictability of formalities) by border control agencies, including customs;
  • Quality of trade and transport related infrastructure (e.g., ports, railroads, roads, information technology);
  • Ease of arranging competitively priced shipments;
  • Competence and quality of logistics services (e.g., transport operators, customs brokers);
  • Ability to track and trace consignments;
  • Timeliness of shipments in reaching destination within the scheduled or expected delivery time.
• Ease of Doing Business Report is also released by the World Bank. It provides an assessment of objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies on ten parameters affecting a business through its life cycle.