PM Gati Shakti

2021 OCT 14

Preliminary   > Industry and Infrastructure   >   Infrastructure & Investment models   >   infrastructure

Why in news?

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th October 2021 launched a Rs. 100-lakh-crore PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity in the country.

About PM Gati Shakti:

  • It is a 100 lakh crore national infrastructure master plan.
  • Gati Shakti is a digital platform which will bring together 16 ministries including rail and road for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.

Need for the scheme:

  • Infrastructure creation in India had suffered for decades from multiple issues.
  • There was lack of coordination between different Departments, for example, once a road was constructed, other agencies dug up the constructed road again for activities like laying of underground cables, gas pipelines etc.
  • This not only caused great inconvenience but was also a wasteful expenditure

Features of PM GatiShakti

  • PM GatiShakti will address the past issues through institutionalizing holistic planning for stakeholders for major infrastructure projects.
  • Instead of planning & designing separately in silos, the projects will be designed and executed with a common vision
  • 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).
  • It will use geo-mapping and real-time data in one centralised portal to ensure that key departments and states have visibility over major projects being planned, especially the ones which have multi-sectoral and multi-regional reach.
  • PM Gati Shakti targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time.

Six pillars of PM GatiShakti:

  • 1. 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.
  • 2. Prioritization:
    • Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
  • 3. 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.
  • 4. 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.
  • 5. 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.
  • 6. 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.

Add ons:

  • 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.
  • It will create multiple employment opportunities and give a boost to the economy.
  • 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 and consumers.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

PM GatiShakti, recently launched by the Government, aims for

(a) Nuclear power generation

(b) Multi-modal connectivity

(c) Space exploration

(d) Defence manufacturing

Answer