Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the mega PM GatiShakti National Master Plan on October 13, a major governance tool that top government officials describe as “transformative”. This will bring 16 central government departments together for planning of all infrastructure connectivity projects till 2025.
The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics under the Ministry of Information Technology (MeITY) has prepared the geo-spatial digital platform for the national master plan for multi-modal connectivity with 200 layers of GIS mapping of the entire country, sources in the government told News18.
State governments are also being reached out to join the platform as partners for holistic planning of all infrastructure and connectivity projects. The plan has details of all projects built till 2020-21 and has been fed with all central projects of the 16 departments that are envisioned till year 2025.
Modi had announced the GatiShakti plan in his Independence Day speech this year. Sixteen central government departments, including Railways, Roads and Highways, Petroleum and Gas, Power, Telecom, Shipping, Aviation and user departments like ones that build industrial parks have been roped in.
Each of them will have “visibility” over the projects being envisioned by the others so that “holistic planning” can be achieved and “silos be broken,” a source in the government said.
The central government is setting up a ‘Network Planning Group’ of top bureaucrats of all the 16 departments at the Centre for better execution of the plan. “The idea is better utilisation of the nation’s resources in the best interest of the nation. State governments will also have access to the platform and we are bringing states on board as partners. The PM is very keen to ensure that this project is taken to the ground so that common man benefits,” a source in the government told News18.
All states have been asked to join on October 13 when the PM launches the plan.
After the PM’s function, central and state bureaucrats will interact in a national conference for one more day on the ‘PM GatiShakti National Master Plan’ along with private stakeholders and domain experts on various themes. “This will be like a stakeholders conference,” a source said.
The digital tool prepared by the government has 3D digital mapping of the entire country till the plot level and this will be key for project planning as well as an analytical tool for decision-making.
“Better data leads to better decisions. Each of the 16 departments and states will know what projects are being planned in any specific area,” a source said.
The government hopes that all states, including the opposition-ruled states, come on board. “For decades, the departmentalisation in the government has not been broken and a cohesive approach has been missing. This project will bring business process re-engineering and brake silos. Like one would know if a national highway is being built in a particular area and if a state highway is also being built nearby and they can be connected. Same goes for power lines, telecom, gas pipelines or broadband,” the source said.
The Big Idea
As per the concept note of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, it is supposed to be a comprehensive infrastructure plan that “aspires to enhance India’s global competitiveness through next generation infrastructure and seamless multi modal connectivity”.
Sources say it has been prepared depicting economic zones and the infrastructure linkages required to support them that can ensure the seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living.
“It will make our local manufacturers globally competitive and develop new possibilities for the creation of future economic zones. GatiShakti will break inter-ministerial silos and integrate the planning and designing of projects with a common and holistic vision. It will usher in a new era of optimisation and synchronisation and resolve issues of disjointed planning, lack of standardisation, issues of clearances and timely creation and optimal utilisation of capacities,” a top government source told News18.
It seeks to use latest technologies like a Geographic Information System base Enterprise Resource Planning with 200+ layers of evidence-based decision making, planning tools for route planning, dashboard based periodic monitoring and use for latest satellite imagery.
“GatiShakti will boost the virtuous cycle of higher investments, growth and employment generation in the economy by improving logistics efficiency. It will revolutionise our infrastructure landscape and will hasten the creation of a ‘New India’, an Atmanirbhar Bharat that will be a $5 trillion economy by 2024,” the government source explained.
Officials also say that GatiShakti will lay the foundation of holistic infrastructure and will lead to an integrated and holistic pathway to the country’s economy.
“Right now, there is no coordination between our means of transport. GatiShakti will break the silos, and will remove all these obstacles. This will reduce the travel time for the common man and the productivity of our industry will also increase. GatiShakti will also go a long way in making our local manufacturers globally competitive and will also develop new possibilities for the creation of future economic zones,” the government source said.
Officials also said that seamless multi-modal connectivity will ensure the seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living as well as the ease of doing business.
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