In a bid to streamline various infrastructure projects in India, the central government has come up with a plan to bring all core government agencies together on one platform. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching "PM GatiShakti National Master Plan" - a dashboard for planning and execution of all infrastructure connectivity projects laid out until 2025.
The platform will bring together 16 government departments, including Railways, Road & Highways, Petroleum & gas, telecom, power, shipping, aviation among others. These seven core departments under the ambit of the platform will improve planning across the ministries, avoid duplication and fasten the permission process. This will cut short the time of execution of crucial infra projects.
"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 optimization and synchronization and resolve issues of disjointed planning, lack of standardization, issues of clearances and timely creation and optimal utilization of capacities," a top government source told News18.
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan
The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan's digital platform is developed by The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space applications and Geo-informatics under Ministry of Information Technology (MeITY), which provides a 200 layers of GIS mapping of the entire country. The state governments are also asked to join the platform for thorough planning of all projects. The digital platform has already been updated with all the projects built till 2021.
"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 government source was quoted as saying by MoneyControl.
The platform uses latest technologies such as Geographic Information System (GIS) based Enterprise Resource Planning. It will enable effective decision making, route planing, timely supervision and use of satellite imagery.
This platform will enable bette coordination between ministries. For instance, the Railways will be able to see if there is any infra project underway by the Road & Highways department around a geographical location, which may otherwise collide. This will result in better planning and execution.
"Right now, there is no coordination between our means of transport. Gati Shakti 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. Gati Shakti will also go a long way in making our local manufacturers globally competitive and this will also develop new possibilities for the creation of future economic zones," the government source said.
