PM Gati Shakti is a strategy for enhancing growth by fostering reliable infrastructure through coordinated, holistic, integrated, and comprehensive planning grounded in knowledge, technology, and innovation.
This necessitates ministries to assist pertinent parties, including public and private enterprises, in obtaining various central and state clearances and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the establishment of infrastructure projects.
PM Gati Shakti Yojana: Exploring The Latest Developments
During his address to the nation from the Red Fort on the 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘PM Gati Shakti’ project. The National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity, inaugurated on October 13, 2021, will commemorate its third anniversary on Sunday.
This digital platform aims to unify multiple Ministries, such as Railways and Roadways, to facilitate integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure projects.
The program seeks to facilitate seamless and efficient connectivity for the transportation of individuals, products, and services across several transport modalities, hence improving last-mile connectivity and minimizing journey duration.
It integrates the infrastructure initiatives of multiple Ministries and State Governments, including Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry ports, and UDAN.
PM Gati Shakti Objective
Objectives of the yojana are –
- Develop a digital platform for comprehensive project planning by integrating pertinent ministries and departments.
- Augment connectivity among Indian roadways, railways, airways, and waterways to optimize the transportation of products.
- Modernize 200 railway terminals and construct 300 new ones, while progressing 196 essential infrastructure projects.
PM Gati Shakti Vision
In accordance with the Gati Shakti vision, these approvals and NOCs should be accessible on a unified portal for investors, eliminating the necessity to visit several platforms to obtain such permissions.
The National Single Window System has been assigned the responsibility of integrating essential approvals and NOCs from nine ministries for comprehensive application and subsequent authorization.
Six Pillars of PM Gati Shakti
There are six important pillars of the scheme are –
1. Prevalence
One portal encompasses all ministry and department initiatives, present and planned. Now that every department knows one other’s operations, crucial input data may be used to plan and execute initiatives.
2. Priority
With real-time and better information, departments can prioritize projects through cross-sectoral exchanges.
3. Customization
After identifying major gaps, the National Master Plan will help ministries plan projects. The plan will help choose the fastest and cheapest route for shipping items.
4. Synchronization
Because ministries and divisions functioned in silos, planning and implementation were often uncoordinated. It coordinates efforts across departments and government layers to synchronize their actions.
5. Analytical
The project agency has superior visibility using GIS-based spatial planning and analytical tools with 200+ layers and entire data in one place. Gati Shakti uses spatial planning tools using ISRO imagery from the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics.
6. Dynamic
The GIS platform lets all ministries and departments visualise, assess, and track projects across sectors. This is because satellite photography shows ground progress at regular intervals and the portal updates project progress. This helps discover key master plan improvements.
PM Gati Shakti Budget 2024
The Budget for 2024-25 announced the implementation of three economic railway corridors identified under Gati Shakti Yojana for enabling multi-modal connectivity: energy, mineral, and cement corridors, port connectivity corridors and high traffic density corridors.
This will improve logistics efficiency and lower rail movement costs. It will minimize logistics carbon emissions, free up high-density rail traffic, and ease the road-to-rail and coastal shipping transition.
PM Gati Shakti Benefits
Benefits of the yojana are –
- It helps save time and money in obtaining clearances from multiple ministries and departments. It speeds project approvals.
- This enables near-real-time application tracking. Better ministry and department coordination speeds up project bottleneck solving. This benefits the government and project implementer.
- Prompt resolution of difficult issues prevents disagreements and unneeded litigation.
- It takes a holistic approach to infrastructure building, avoiding piecemeal approaches. It helps choose the appropriate infrastructure solution, reducing duplication and misallocation of resources.
PM Gati Shakti Portal
It unites Central and State/UT Government(s), Local authorities, and Service Providers to facilitate the Right of Way (RoW) Application Process through a single interface. This site ensures transparency, accountability, and responsiveness for stakeholders during application processing.
This has further accelerated “Ease of Doing Business” as the application process for Digital Infrastructure installation is delayed due to policy and process inconsistency and uncertainty, requiring fast-tracking to overcome implementation challenges.
PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan
It revolutionizes sustainable development and economic progress. The approach has seven engines:
The development will match all seven engines. Energy transmission, information and communications technology, bulk water and sewerage, and social infrastructure support these engines.
Sabka Prayas and Clean Energy—federal, state, and business sector efforts—drive the approach. These measures will provide many career and business opportunities, especially for youth.
PM Gati Shakti and National Infrastructure Pipeline
To connecting economic zones with multimodal infrastructure. Gati Shakti National Master Plan is a database of trunk and utility infrastructure, ongoing and prospective projects of Central Government and State/UT Economic Ministries/Departments.
This data is integrated with the GIS-enabled PM Gati Shakti platform to plan, develop, and monitor Next Generation infrastructure projects on one portal.
Economic zones, such as textile, pharmaceutical, defense, electronic, industrial, and agri zones, are being mapped for integrated infrastructure planning to make Indian enterprises more cost-competitive.
This will increase economic growth, attract international investments, de-risk investments by visualizing interconnectedness, and boost export competitiveness.
It’s NMP addresses integrated infrastructure development, while National Logistics Policy, 2022 addresses efficiency in services (processes, digital systems, and regulatory framework) and human resources through its Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan.
NMP and National Logistics Policy establish a data-driven decision support framework for efficient logistics, cutting costs and improving efficiency.
PM Gati Shakti Registration
It helps stakeholders register for project planning and execution. This platform encourages ministry and department collaboration to maximize resources. Visit PM Gati Shakti’s website for registration and other information.
PM Gati Shakti Guidelines
The guidelines provide a framework for integrated infrastructure development across India’s sectors. They stress ministry coordination to streamline project execution and resource allocation.
The standards improve transparency and efficiency in monitoring ongoing and upcoming infrastructure projects.
Endnote
The PM Gati Shakti program aims to transform Indian infrastructure development by creating a seamless, efficient multimodal transportation network. This strategy integrates ministries and uses advanced technologies to improve connectivity and save logistical costs nationwide.
By expediting Right of Way approvals, accelerating telecom infrastructure installation, and enabling nationwide 5G service deployment, the Gati Shakti Sanchar site supports this ambition. With these initiatives, India can attain its ambitious Aatmanirbharta ambitions.
FAQs
What are the challenges of PM Gati Shakti scheme?
The absence of interdepartmental cooperation results in inefficient spending, protracted approval procedures, numerous regulatory approvals, and difficulties in acquiring contested land.
What are the schemes under PM Gati Shakti?
PM Gati Shakti integrates the infrastructure initiatives of multiple Ministries and State Governments, including Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry ports, and UDAN.
What is the target of PM Gati Shakti?
The National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity is a digital platform designed to unify 16 Ministries, including Railways and Roadways, for the integrated planning and coordinated execution of infrastructure connectivity projects.
How many engines drive PM Gati Shakti?
Seven engines—roadways, trains, airports, seaports, mass transit systems, waterways, and logistical infrastructure—drive the approach.
Nishank is a social impact enthusiast with a solid foundation in public policy, micro-enterprise, and agribusiness. Growing up in a farmer’s family has given him a profound connection to rural communities, fueling his passion to empower people towards self-reliance. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Delhi University and earned a master’s degree in Rural Management from National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj in Hyderabad.
