PM GatiShakti to break Departmental silos and institutionalize holistic planning for stakeholders across major infrastructure projects
All Departments to now have visibility of each others’ projects through a centralized portal
Multi-modal connectivity to provide integrated and seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services
PM GatiShakti to generate multiple employment opportunities, cut down of logistics cost, improve supply chains and make local goods globally competitive
PM to also inaugurate the New Exhibition Complex at Pragati Maidan
Posted On: 12 OCT 2021 6:28PM by PIB Delhi In a historic event for the infrastructure landscape of the country, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, on 13th October, 2021 at 11 AM at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
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. To address this, efforts were put in place to increase coordination so that all cables, pipelines etc. could be laid simultaneously. Steps have also been taken to address other issues like time-taking approval process, multiplicity of regulatory clearances etc. In the last seven years, the Government has ensured unprecedented focus on infrastructure through a holistic outlook.
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).
PM GatiShakti is based on six pillars:
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.
PM GatiShakti is the result of Prime Minister’s constant 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.
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 & consumers.
Infrastructure has often been the back on which countries have transformed themselves. The New Deal, ushered in by President Roosevelt in USA, lifted the country off its feet after the Great Depression.
Japan post World War II, where transit oriented development was crucial. Between 1960-1990, South Korea grew at an average rate of 10% per annum. China between 1980-2010 set a similar pace.
The result was a socio-economic transformation within a generation in these countries.
A critical enabler in the success of these countries was a multi-modal transport network, that significantly reduced the cost of logistics, boosting export competitiveness.
As India seeks to usher in a similar economic transformation, exports will be key. However, our infrastructure has often been cited as a binding constraint in raising the potential growth rate of our country.
Why does infrastructure matter? In economics parlance, multiplier effects accrue to the economy through infrastructure spending.
This means that not only does the project contribute immediately through increased demand for labour, construction materials, but also through the second order effects improved connectivity brings. Goods & people will move faster between destinations. The cost of logistics comes down.
Studies by the Reserve Bank of India and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy have estimated the multiplier to be between 2.5-3.5x.
This means, for every rupee spent by the government in creating infrastructure, GDP gains worth Rs. 2.5-3.5 accrue.
Furthermore, in times of economic contractions, this multiplier is larger than the one during times of economic expansion.
This could imply that public investment if timed and targeted right, can actually ‘crowd-in’ private investment, rather than ‘crowd-out’. To realise these benefits, raising our capital expenditure as a % of GDP will be crucial, at both the Central & State level.
At the same time, the infrastructure plan of a country must seamlessly & efficiently move goods & people across various modes of transport.
However, this requires a coordinated approach. For instance, roads would feed into railway lines which in turn would feed into ports, efficiently moving goods from the hinterlands to the ports.
This would enable the development of multiple urban, industrial centres across India.
These urban centres in turn, would enable balanced regional development, as multiple industrial clusters could sprout up across India. Both Central and state government revenues would be bolstered, enabling higher spending on social sectors.
This would have the spillover effect of easing pressure on existing urban agglomerations, leading to a higher quality of life across the board.
However, while India has tried to achieve the same, an end-to-end seamless, multi-modal transportation network is some way away. For instance, roads dominate the share of traffic.
64% of the freight in India is moved through roads. As diesel drives road transport, any spike in oil prices raise prices across the board, through higher transport costs and also because fuel is not part of GST, which means input tax credit is not available.
Even post GST, FastTag and other initiatives, it is desirable to aspire for a higher share of railway in modal share as it remains a more efficient method.
Furthermore, while many economic zones, industrial parks, logistics hubs and ports were planned, they often suffered owing to inefficient multi-modal connectivity, and also due to their small size.
The fragmented nature of decision making, with each department working in silos meant that a disjointed industrial network was created.
While several pieces of the puzzle were in place, many remained unconnected as well.
A lack of scale in manufacturing and an inefficient logistics network hampered our global competitiveness.
However, achieving an efficient, seamless multi-modal transport network is no easy task.
It requires independent government departments to work in close coordination and collaboration, guided by an overarching master plan. The Prime Minister during his Independence Day speech of 2021 had emphasised that the National Master Plan, GatiShakti would help realize the dreams of crores of our countrymen.
The GatiShakti programme marks a paradigm shift in decision making to break the silos of departmentalism.
In the proposed Plan, all the existing and proposed economic zones have been mapped along with the multimodal connectivity infrastructure in a single platform.
Individual projects of different line Ministries would be examined and sanctioned in future within the parameters of the overall Plan, leading to synchronisation of efforts.
GatiShakti will bring synergy to create a world class, seamless multi-modal transport network in India.
The National Master Plan will employ modern technology and the latest IT tools for coordinated planning of infrastructure. A GIS-based Enterprise Resource Planning system with 200+ layers for evidence-based decision-making is one example. The use of satellite imagery for monitoring is another.
Digitisation will play a big role in ensuring timely clearances and flagging potential issues, and in project monitoring as well.
An efficient logistics network is one necessary condition. Another one is achieving economies of scale in manufacturing. Industrial parks and logistics parks need to grow in size to be globally competitive.
The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), formerly DMIDC will work in close coordination with state governments to develop these industrial corridors.
State governments must take the lead in identifying parcels of land for industrialisation in consonance with the national plan to reap the maximum benefits of jobs and growth.
At the same time we must ensure these initiatives towards dedicated industrial corridors keep in mind the current realities.
Climate change is upon is and all projects must incorporate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Indian Railways has made substantial commitments in greening railways, by committing towards becoming a net-zero carbon emitter before 2030.
Railway electrification has been given a big thrust and has grown by 10x since 2014. The targets set for electrification must be regularly monitored.
Much has been achieved in ensuring India can transform into a manufacturing powerhouse.
A continuous easing of the business environment, coupled with economic reforms will boost formality & productivity.
Cleaning up of bank balance sheets will raise availability of credit. Availability of large tracts of land, can help achieve scale in manufacturing.
Public investments in infrastructure will reduce the cost of logistics, through creating a seamless multi-modal infrastructure network.
However, this would require synchronisation across various government levels and departments to execute.
This is what the GatiShakti plan aims to achieve - synchronous decision making to create a world-class, seamless multi-modal transport network, on the back of which India will be transformed.