Gati Shakti to make policymaking effective, cut needless expenses: PM Modi

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the Rs 100-trillion Gati Shakti or the national master plan for multimodal connectivity to expedite infrastructure (infra) project implementation, thereby accelerating economic growth.

The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan will provide accurate information and guidance for the completion of the government's projects within a stipulated time frame, making policymaking effective and eliminate unnecessary government expenditure, he said at the launch of the master plan in the national Capital on Wednesday.

“Just as we have been successful in taking the government facilities in the country to the right beneficiary faster with the power of the JAM trinity - Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile - Gati Shakti will do the same work in the field of infra. It will provide a holistic vision - from infra planning to execution,” said Modi.

Gati Shakti, spearheaded by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, is a digital platform bringing 16 ministries, including rail and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infra connectivity projects.

Until now, infrastructural development in various sectors was not working concurrently, thereby hurting decision-making and the pace of economic development. With the launch of the master plan, planning and designing separately, projects will be designed and executed with a common vision, breaking inter-ministerial silos.

“Those who are our private players do not know whether the road is going to pass through here, or a canal is going to be built there, or a power station will come up somewhere. The solution to all these problems lies in Gati Shakti,” said Modi.

The master plan has been prepared depicting economic zones and infra linkages required to support them with the objective to holistically integrate all multimodal connectivity projects and remove missing gaps for seamless movement of people, goods, and services. The comprehensive map provides a bird’s eye view of infra development with key layers, based on completion timelines of various economic zones, infra, and utilities across the country.

A senior government official said the master plan aims to achieve a network of 200,000 km national highways, increase cargo capacity of ports to augment power transmission capacity, as well as enhance renewable energy capacity. It aims to set up mega food parks, agro-processing centres, defence corridors, electronics manufacturing and textile clusters, and pharmaceutical and medical devices clusters.

Arindam Guha, partner and leader (government and public services), Deloitte India, said if the multiplier effect of infra investments on gross domestic product is to be maximised within a shorter time frame, it is critical that specific infra projects - which form a part of critical trade routes (both internal and external) - be prioritised.

“For example, specific road and rail connectivity linkages or evacuation points like ports and airports, which form a part of designated industrial corridors like Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, East Coast Economic Corridor or Amritsar-Kolkata Freight Corridor, are likely to have a disproportionate positive impact on trade flows of multiple products manufactured in the corridor. Same is the case with last-mile connectivity infra to large operational and upcoming industrial parks on the brink of completion. The Gati Shakti initiative, with its technology platform for real-time monitoring of projects and supporting coordination mechanisms between ministries and government agencies, is expected to provide a major boost in the prioritisation of such projects,” said Guha.

The plan is built on a single platform ranging between three time periods - status as on 2014-15, achievements made by 2020-21, and planned interventions up to 2024-25 for providing visibility on the completion of projects and consequently, helping different ministries plan their activities better.

An empowered group of secretaries under the chairmanship of the Cabinet secretary is proposed to be constituted for approving changes, if any, to the master plan to meet emerging requirements.

The industry welcomed the initiative. “Coming close on the heels of the National Infrastructure Pipeline and the National Monetisation Plan, the Gati Shakti vision will underscore the primacy of place accorded by the PM to develop world-class infra facilities crucial to improving business sentiment and speeding up the country’s vision to emerge a $5-trillion economy in the near future,” said T V Narendran, president, Confederation of Indian Industry.

MORE POWER & SPEED

• PM Gati Shakti is a digital platform that will bring 16 ministries together for coordinated implementation of infra projects
• Will provide convenience through multimodal connectivity
• Master plan to provide analytical decision-making tool to investors, policymakers
• Movement of goods and people to become seamless, create possibilities for development of more economic zones
• Projects will be designed and executed with a common vision across various ministries
• An integrated multimodal network planning group will be responsible for unified planning and integration of proposals