Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech had stressed that the National Master Plan, Gati Shakti would help realize the dreams of crores of Indians. The Gati Shakti programme marks a model shift in decision making to break the silos of departmentalism.
The PM viewed in the proposed plan, all the existing and proposed economic zones will be mapped along with the multi-modal connectivity infrastructure in a single platform. Individual projects of different departments will be examined and sanctioned in future within the parameters of the overall plan, leading to synchronisation of efforts.
Gati Shakti 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.
Gati Shakti is basically Rs 100 lakh-crore plan that envisages a centralized portal comprising all existing and planned infrastructure initiatives of as many as 16 central ministries and departments for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infra connectivity projects. The Union Cabinet while approving the plan said, “The PM Gati Shakti NMP is intended to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects with a view to addressing the issues of multi-modal connectivity and last-mile connectivity.”