PM Gati Shakti Initiative

Context- Six infrastructure projects were evaluated at the 56th Network Planning Group meeting under PM Gati Shakti Initiative.

Key Highlights 

• Among the six projects, four are Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) projects and two are Ministry of Railways (MOR) projects with a total  cost of about Rs. 52,000 crowns 
• MORTH launched four road projects worth approximately Rs. 45000 crore to NPG and showed adherence to GatiShakti principles.  
• The first project proposal is  Greenfield Road in Gujarat and Maharashtra which will benefit not only the industrial areas but also the agricultural sector of the region. 
• Another Greenfield Road project is also located in the state of Gujarat 
  • It will connect the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor with Ahmedabad and Vadodara and  integrate with other modes of transport, helping to promote and exploit multimodality in the region.  
• The third proposed road project is located in the state of Bihar and involves the construction of four lanes on the Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor under the Bharatmala Pariyojna. 
  • This project is expected to lead to socio-economic development in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas including tribal areas.  
• The fourth road project discussed in the meeting is located in Uttar Pradesh and aims to improve connectivity between the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• Two railway project proposals with a total cost of about Rs. 6,700 kroner were also estimated. One Greenfield railway project is located in Odisha.
• It connects the industrial and mineral clusters of western Odisha with the port on the eastern coast. 
• In addition, the industrial clusters of eastern Chhattisgarh will also get a shorter port connection with the eastern coast. 
• Another railway project proposal is in the state of Kerala and involves doubling the railway tracks.
  • This will improve the quality of rail traffic in the very busy Southern Railway corridor. 

PM GatiShakti 

• PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for Multimodal Connectivity was launched in October 2021. 
• It is essentially a digital platform that brings together 16 ministries, including railways and highways, for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. There are no separate funds  a 
• Funding is allocated  per project based on the requirements and within the sanctioned project costs.

Features 

• PM Gati Shakti is consolidating infrastructure plans of various ministries and state governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc. 
• Economic zones such as Textile Clusters, Pharmaceutical Clusters, Defense Corridors, Electronics Parks, Industrial Corridors, Fisheries Clusters and Agricultural Zones have been included to improve connectivity and competitiveness of Indian companies. 
• There is also extensive use of technology, including space planning tools  developed by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics) with imagery from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). 

Purpose and need 

• Infrastructure has always been important in the sustainable development of any country. 
• The master plan will upgrade India’s multimodal infrastructure. The results of PM Gati Shakti’s master plan are visible.  
• It provides integrated and seamless connections for the movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another.

Source: PIB

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