| GS Paper 3: Indian Economy, Mobilisation of Resources, Employment, Inclusive Growth |
Why in the News?
Recently, the Prime Minister celebrated the successful completion of three years of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, emphasizing its transformative impact on India’s infrastructure.
The Prime Minister highlighted how GatiShakti has improved multimodal connectivity, enhanced efficiency in logistics, and driven job creation and innovation across various sectors.
What is the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan?
- Launched in October 2021, the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is an ambitious Rs. 100 lakh crore initiative aimed at revolutionizing India’s infrastructure.
- This five-year plan is designed as a digital master planning tool, developed by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
- It incorporates data from all ministries and departments into a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform to streamline infrastructure development, reduce delays, and break down inter-ministerial barriers.
- The goal is to create world-class infrastructure that enhances the ease of living, boosts economic growth, and increases the competitiveness of Indian businesses on the global stage.
Key Features:
- Digital Integration: The plan brings together the efforts of 16 ministries, ensuring that infrastructure projects are planned and executed in a coordinated manner.
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- Multi-Sector Collaboration: GatiShakti integrates various initiatives, such as Bharatmala (roadways), Sagarmala (ports), inland waterways, dry ports, and the UDAN scheme (airports), into one unified platform.
- Economic Zones Development: Focuses on promoting economic hubs like textile clusters, pharmaceutical zones, defense corridors, and agricultural zones to boost productivity.
- Technology Utilization: Advanced spatial planning tools and satellite imagery from ISRO support data-driven project planning and management.
Key Engines Driving PM GatiShakti
The PM GatiShakti Master Plan focuses on seven key sectors that are essential for driving growth and connectivity:
- Roads
- Railways
- Ports
- Airports
- Mass Transport
- Waterways
- Logistics Infrastructure
Complementary sectors like energy, IT, bulk water supply, and social infrastructure also play a vital role in supporting these engines for seamless development and logistics across the nation.
The Six Pillars of PM GatiShakti
- Comprehensiveness: The platform provides a centralized portal that integrates existing and planned infrastructure projects from all ministries, ensuring efficient planning through data visibility.
- Prioritization: Ministries can prioritize key projects based on cross-sectoral collaboration, ensuring the optimal use of resources.
- Optimization: The system identifies critical infrastructure gaps, helping select the most efficient transport routes and reducing delays.
- Synchronization: Ensures alignment across ministries, preventing delays due to uncoordinated efforts.
- Analytical Capabilities: Over 200 data layers on the GIS-based platform support better decision-making through comprehensive spatial planning tools.
- Dynamic Monitoring: Real-time project tracking using satellite imagery helps ministries adjust and ensure timely progress
Major Achievements of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan:
- District-Level Expansion: GatiShakti’s reach has extended to 27 aspirational districts, with plans to expand to 750 districts soon.
- Technological Integration: The platform uses advanced geospatial tools and data layers, improving real-time infrastructure planning.
- Global Showcasing: The GatiShakti model has been showcased in 30 countries and highlighted at international forums such as UNESCAP and the Asia Pacific Business Forum.
- Social Sector Integration: The platform has helped ministries like Health and Family Welfare identify internet-starved areas and plan new healthcare facilities. Uttar Pradesh has used GatiShakti to select sites for hospitals and wheat procurement centers.
- Urban and Rural Impact: Districts like Dahod (Gujarat) use satellite data for planning irrigation systems, while cities like Kanpur and Bengaluru have developed logistics plans for better connectivity.
- Employment and Training: The Ministry of Skill Development uses the GatiShakti approach to identify sites for training institutes near industrial hubs and special economic zones.
Challenges of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan
- Data Integration and Accuracy: Synchronizing real-time data from multiple ministries is challenging, with some data being outdated or incomplete, which hampers effective planning.
- Example: While 13 states have digitized land records, others lag, slowing down project implementation.
- Inter-Ministerial Coordination: Ministries often work in silos, delaying progress. Poor coordination between ministries and states, as seen in projects like Bharatmala and Sagarmala, slows overall progress.
- Regulatory Bottlenecks: Projects face lengthy delays in securing approvals, particularly for environmental and land clearances. Power and road projects in hilly regions are often delayed due to local protests, environmental concerns, and other factors.
- Financing and Resource Allocation: Many large projects face funding shortages, especially in regions where public-private partnerships (PPPs) are limited.
- Lack of Skilled Manpower: Some states lack the skilled workforce or technological expertise required to fully utilize the GatiShakti platform.
- Project Monitoring and Accountability: Though the platform supports real-time tracking, inconsistent project updates slow down overall progress.
How Can PM GatiShakti’s Implementation Be Improved?
- Improving Real-Time Data: Expand the use of satellite imagery and geospatial tools to keep data accurate and up-to-date, while accelerating land record digitization across all states.
- Enhancing Coordination: Set up inter-ministerial task forces to improve communication between ministries, ensuring smooth execution of projects.
- Training and Technology Adoption: Establish regional training centers through Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya to equip states with the skills needed for infrastructure planning.
- Streamlining Regulatory Approvals: GIS-based tools can be used to fast-track environmental and land clearances, especially for critical projects.
- Attracting Private Investment: Use innovative financing methods like Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to reduce the government’s financial burden and attract private investors.
- Promoting Sustainability: Incorporate environmentally friendly practices in all projects, engaging local communities early to minimize resistance and ensure smooth execution, especially in sensitive areas like the Himalayas.
Conclusion:
The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is a landmark initiative that, despite its challenges, promises to revolutionize India’s infrastructure landscape, enhancing connectivity, fostering economic growth, and making Indian businesses more competitive globally.
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