PM Gati Shakti Master Plan

In News

• Recently, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Puducherry appealed to the Centre for extending support to develop infrastructure and improve multimodal connectivity in the region.

About

• The LG said the Union Territory was looking to develop an outer ring road in Puducherry, SEZ clusters in Puducherry and Karaikal, and National Highways to improve connectivity across the region.
• The other infrastructure expansion initiatives include development of air, rail and port connectivity, apart from coastal mapping and marine spatial planning. 

Image Courtesy: PIB 

Gati Shakti Master Plan

• Launch: 
  • On India’s 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre will launch ‘PM Gati Shakti Master Plan’, a Rs. 100 lakh-crore projects for developing ‘holistic infrastructure’.
• About: 
  • Gati Shakti — a digital platform — will bring 16 Ministries including Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
• Cooperation:
  • It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc. 
  • Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive. 
  • It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
• 6 pillars of the Plan:
  • Comprehensiveness: 
    • It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and Departments with one centralized portal. 
    • Each and every Department will now have visibility of each other’s activities providing critical data while planning & execution of projects in a comprehensive manner.
  • Prioritisation: 
    • Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
  • Optimization: 
    • The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after identification of critical gaps. 
    • For the transportation of the goods from one place to another, the plan will help in selecting the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
  • Synchronization: 
    • Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos. 
    • There is lack of coordination in planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays. 
    • PM GatiShakti will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them.
  • Analytical: 
    • The plan will provide the entire data at one place with GIS based spatial planning and analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
  • Dynamic: 
    • All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery will give on-ground progress periodically and progress of the projects will be updated on a regular basis on the portal. 
    • It will help in identifying the vital interventions for enhancing and updating the master plan.

Significance

• Tourism: 
  • Infrastructure was key to development of tourism, including spiritual and medical tourism 
• Institutional infrastructure:
  • The Centre’s support in creating an institutional framework in time-bound manner and implementation of projects under the PM Gati Shakti national master plan for multimodal connectivity will give a boost to overall infrastructure of the country.
• Logistics: 
  • Development of the logistics network by investing heavily in road infrastructure, new and renewable energy.
• Ease of Living: 
  • Endeavour to build Next Generation Infrastructure which improves Ease of Living as well as Ease of Doing Business. 
  • The multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another. 
  • It will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for people.
• Information help with investing: 
  • PM GatiShakti will provide the public and business community information regarding the upcoming connectivity projects, other business hubs, industrial areas and surrounding environment. 
  • This will enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations leading to enhanced synergies. 
• Employment: 
  • It will create multiple employment opportunities and give a boost to the economy. 
• Improved competitiveness:
  • It will improve the global competitiveness of local products by cutting down the logistics costs and improving the supply chains, and also ensure proper linkages for local industry & consumers.
• Reduce turnaround time:
  • Besides cutting logistics costs, the scheme is also aimed at increasing cargo handling capacity and reducing the turnaround time at ports to boost trade.
• Silo working reduced: 
  • It would address the problem of government departments and Ministries working in silos.

Way Ahead

• Infrastructure development will play an important role in India’s aim to become a $5 trillion economy.
• India is seeking the use of innovative technology and materials in road construction, and is open to adopting guidelines for use of new materials and technology.

Source: TH