What is PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan
The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will provide modern infrastructure development a new direction through planning, implementation, and monitoring while also reducing project time and cost overruns. It is a comprehensive national strategy for building infrastructure to propel India into the twenty-first century.
Infrastructure development is a critical enabler to achieving a $20 trillion economy by 2040. The ₹100 lakh crore mega plan was launched with a digital platform to bring 16 ministries together for integrated planning and implementation of projects.
PM GATI SHAKTI IS BASED ON SIX PILLARS:
Comprehensiveness: With a single centralized platform, it will incorporate all current and future efforts of different Ministries and Departments. Every Department will now be able to see each other’s operations, providing crucial information for proper planning and carrying out initiatives.
Prioritization: Using cross-sector interactions, will enable various Departments to rank their projects in order of importance.
Optimization: After identifying crucial gaps, the National Master Plan will help various ministries plan projects. The plan will assist in choosing the fastest and least expensive path for moving items from one location to another.
Synchronization: Individual Ministries and Departments frequently operate in silos. The project’s planning and execution are not coordinated well, which causes delays. By ensuring that work is coordinated between each department’s operations and those of the various tiers of governance, it will aid in synchronizing both sets of activities holistically.
Analytical: The plan gives the executing agency improved visibility by putting all the data in one location and using GIS-based spatial planning and analytical tools with 200+ levels.
Dynamic: Through the GIS platform, all Ministries and Departments will now be able to see, review, and monitor the development of cross-sectoral projects, since satellite images will periodically provide on-ground progress and the progress of the projects will be updated on the portal. It will aid in determining the crucial corrections and updates needed for the master plan.
What is the Goal of PM Gati Shakti Mission :
To guarantee comprehensive planning and execution of infrastructure projects over the next four years, with a focus on accelerating ground-level work, cutting costs, and generating jobs. The National Infrastructure Plan, which was introduced in 2019 and cost Rs 110 lakh crore, would be absorbed by the Gati Shakti scheme. The plan aims to increase cargo handling capacity and shorten turnaround times at ports to increase trade in addition to lowering logistical expenses.
In addition, it plans to create two new defense corridors, one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Uttar Pradesh, and 11 industrial corridors. Another goal is to extend 4G access to every town. The network of gas pipelines will be expanded by 17,000 kilometers. It will assist in achieving the challenging goals the government has set for the years 2024–2025, such as doubling the length of the national highway system to 2 lakh kilometers and building more than 200 new airports, heliports, and water aerodromes.
Integrated Strategy: It plans to bring together 16 Ministries involved in infrastructure.
Expectations from PM Gati Shakti
The plan will assist in mapping both current and future connection efforts. Additionally, there will be a great deal more clarity on the connections between the nation’s many regions and industrial clusters, especially in terms of last-mile connectivity. Make in India will be considerably supported, and various means of transportation will be merged, by a comprehensive and integrated transport connectivity strategy. It will assist India in becoming the world’s commercial hub.
Challanges in PM Gati Shakti Mission
Low Offtake of Credit: There are worries about deteriorating credit offtake patterns despite the government has implemented “substantial” banking sector reforms and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has resulted in around Rs. 2.4 lakh crore of recovery on bad loans. Banks extend credit to businesses in order to assist them in obtaining finance for upcoming initiatives through the assurance of future earnings and evidence of an existing market.
The dearth of Demand: There is a lack of both private and investor demand in the post-Covid-19 scenario.
Structural issues: Issues with litigation and the acquisition of land have slowed down project implementation, which is extremely slow by international standards. It is very challenging to obtain approvals for infrastructure projects in terms of access to land and environmental clearances. Additionally, pending legal disputes cause delays.
