The Central government is undertaking efforts for the Next Generation Infrastructure to improve ease of living as well as ease of doing business. On these lines, the Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Damodardas Modi had announced ‘PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity’ in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2021. Following this, on October 13 2021, GatiShakti, a Rs. 100 lakh-crore project was officially launched by the Indian PM during an event at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Gati Shakti is a digital platform collaborating 16 Central Ministries and Departments for integrated planning and coordination to implement infrastructure connectivity projects of more than 1,200 industrial clusters.
- These include two defence corridors, Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, and agri zones.
- It will lay the foundation for economic growth over the next 25 years.
Features of PM Gati Shakti:
It is a campaign to lend more speed (Gati) and power (Shakti) to projects by connecting all concerned departments on one platform. It is also an important part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-dependent India) and will complement projects under the $1.5-trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and boost the goal of achieving a $5-trillion economy.
- Target: To cut logistic costs which are currently at 13% of India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product); increase cargo handling capacity; seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another; and reduce travel time.
- Handlers: It will be spearheaded by the logistics division in the Ministry of Commerce. Also, there will be an empowered group of secretaries headed by Cabinet secretary (Currently Rajiv Gauba) to look after its implementation.
- Tech-savvy: It will deploy modern technology including spatial planning tools with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics) for coordinated planning of infrastructure.
What is the need behind this Master Plan?
The key reason behind this is to increase coordination between the different ministries and departments for infrastructure development. Currently, the lack of collaborations between them led to inconvenience for the general public and also wastes expenditure. For example: Digging up of constructed roads again by other agencies for activities like laying of underground cables, gas pipelines etc.
- Now, this plan envisages simultaneous working of different ministries with a common vision. The projects will be designed and executed as per this.
- Other issues like time-taking approval process, multiplicity of regulatory clearances etc will also be addressed.
Key Benefits of PM GatiShakti:
i.It will provide information to the public and business community regarding the upcoming connectivity projects. This will enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations.
ii.It will create multiple employment opportunities.
ii.It will also improve the global competitiveness of local products with reduced logistics costs and improve the supply chains for local industry & consumers.
6 pillars of PM GatiShakti:
The whole plan is premised upon the 6 pillars which are as follows:
i.Comprehensiveness: It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and Departments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, etc with one centralized portal.
ii.Prioritization: Through this, different departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
iii.Optimization: Assisting different ministries in planning for projects after identification of critical gaps.
iv.Synchronization: It will ensure coordination of work between Individual Ministries and Departments thus will help in synchronizing the activities of each department.
v.Analytical: It will provide the entire data at one place with GIS (Geographic information system) based spatial planning and 200+ layers analytical tools.
vi.Dynamic: All Ministries and Departments able to visualize, review and monitor the progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform.
Gati Shakti to aid in Achieving Ambitious Targets for period of 2024-25:
It will also help in fulfilling the ambitious targets set by the government for the period of 2024-25 which includes the following:
- 11 industrial corridors and two new defence corridors in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh
- 4G connectivity in all villages
- Increasing renewable energy capacity to 225 GW from 87.7 GW
- Expanding the national highway network to 2 lakh km
- Increasing length of transmission network to 4,54,200 circuit km
- Creation of 220 new airports, heliports and water aerodromes
- Increasing cargo handling capacity of railways to 1,600 million tons from 1210 million tons
- Adding 17,000 km to gas pipeline network
- 202 fishing clusters/harbours/landing centres
Mumbai Port Trust Projects Promoting Multi-Modal Connectivity
In line with PM Gati Shakti, Mumbai Port Trust is undertaking a number of projects promoting multimodal connectivity which is premised upon two pillars, namely cargo-related projects and Sea Tourism. The key projects from both are as follows:
i.The Port is constructing an International Cruise Terminal (ICT) at Ballard Pier extension berth at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore.
- It will berth cruise ships from across the globe and also have retail stores, restaurants, leisure areas and many more facilities.
ii.The biggest crude oil jetty with a capacity of 22 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) is being constructed at Marine Oil Terminal with pipeline connectivity for its evacuation. This project released other four jetties for more coastal traffic of P.O.L ((Petroleum Oil and Lubricant).
iii.The port is also developing a one-kilometre long Mumbai Port waterfront at Prince’s and Victoria Dock Wall as an integrated water transport hub with all modern requirements.
- It will operate Ro-Pax services between Mumbai and Mandwa for commuters and tourists to ease road traffic in the city.
iv.The port will also construct the world’s longest ropeway over the sea between Sewri to Elephanta caves, approximately eight kilometres long, in a public-private project (PPP) costing about Rs.700 Crores.
Other inauguration:
The PM also inaugurated the New Exhibition Complex (Exhibition Halls 2 to 5) at Pragati Maidan. India Trade Promotion Organisation’s flagship event, India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2021 will be held from November 14-27, 2021 in these new exhibition halls.
Other Participants:
Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH); Raj Kumar Singh, Ministry of Power; Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Railways; Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA); Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), among others
Recent Related News:
i.On September 22, 2021, Union Minister Piyush Goyal launched the National Single Window System (NSWS), an online portal to enable global and domestic investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses to identify and obtain approvals and clearances needed in India. It is an effort toward ease of doing business.
ii.The Union Cabinet approved 9 structural reforms and 5 procedural reforms along with relief measures for the Telecom Service Providers to escalate the penetration of broadband and telecom connectivity in India.
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:
Piyush Goyal Constituency– Maharashtra
Minister of State– Som Parkash (Constituency- Hoshiarpur, Punjab); Anupriya Patel (Constituency- Mirzapur,Uttar Pradesh)
