PM GatiShakti National Masterplan to Include Social Sector Infrastructure, Says DPIIT Secretary
Feb 03, 2024: Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, revealed that the PM GatiShakti National Masterplan would extend its scope to encompass social sector infrastructure. Speaking at the ‘PM GatiShakti Summit,’ jointly organized by FICCI and DPIIT, Mr. Singh emphasized India’s economic growth, positioning it as the world’s 5th largest economy with a current GDP of $3.7 trillion. He projected India to reach $5 trillion by the end of 2025 and $7 trillion by 2030, becoming the world’s 3rd largest economy.
Mr. Singh credited this robust growth to strong political leadership, effective macroeconomic management, and substantial investments in public infrastructure. He underscored that PM GatiShakti facilitates proactive planning, ensuring last-mile connectivity is strategically planned in advance.
The Secretary highlighted a new initiative to expand planning beyond traditional infrastructure, now encompassing social sectors like hospitals, Anganwadi centers, schools, and colleges. The aim is to adopt a data-driven decision-making process for social sector infrastructure development, emphasizing comprehensive area planning. This initiative is set to roll out across all districts in the country, empowering District Collectors with essential data for better jurisdictional planning.
Mr. Singh outlined the transformation in Indian infrastructure over the last nine years, citing growth in national highways, port handling capacity, airports, waterways, and rail networks. This growth, coupled with the PM GatiShakti National Masterplan, has contributed to a significant reduction in logistics costs, down to 8-9% of GDP from earlier estimates of 14%.
As part of India’s commitment to the global south, Mr. Singh announced plans to share the PM GatiShakti National Masterplan with neighboring and other developing countries, free of cost.
Ms. Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary (Logistics), DPIIT, emphasized PM GatiShakti’s transformative approach to integrated planning, reducing logistics costs, and ensuring seamless movement of goods and people. She highlighted efforts to strengthen regional connectivity, enhance multimodal connectivity to growth centers and border points, and reduce logistic costs through better infrastructure and operational improvements.
Ms. Dawra also mentioned the ongoing efforts to integrate the PM GatiShakti platform with a survey-based system, which will further contribute to the reduction of logistic costs.
Mr. Sandip Somany, Past President, FICCI, and Chairman & Managing Director, Somany Impressa Group, praised PM GatiShakti as a visionary approach to seamlessly integrate sectors and elevate India’s infrastructure to global standards.
Mr. Shailesh K Pathak, Secretary-General, FICCI, highlighted the impact of PM GatiShakti on infrastructure stages, including design, financing, timely construction, and operation. He emphasized the positive outcomes already experienced by FICCI members due to the PM GatiShakti National Masterplan and the National Logistics Policy.
During the event, FICCI released a report titled ‘Sustainable Multimodal Logistics: A Vision and Green Logistics Paradigm.’
