Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The PM Gati Shakti Project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2021, recently witnessed a huge impetus with the approval of four infrastructure projects of roads and railways worth Rs 23,500 crore.
These projects were assessed at the 58th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting. All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing investments of over Rs 500 crore, are routed through NPG.
Gati Shakti, the national master plan for multi-modal connectivity, is a digital platform that was designed to bring 16 ministries, including Railways and Roadways together to enable integrated planning and well-synchronized implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
“Road and railway projects for multimodal connectivity with project costs of more than Rs 23,500 crore were discussed in the NPG,” said the commerce and industry ministry in a recent meeting chaired by Special Secretary (Logistics), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Sumita Dawra.
As a part of the meeting, the ministries were asked to incorporate the planning approach of area development in project planning and have interactions with states. The aim of these interactions is to ensure the identification of infrastructural gaps and promote integrated planning.
The inter-ministerial NPG meets every fortnight and sheds light on infrastructural projects to bring together efforts and ensure holistic development in and around the project location. Its approval is a prerequisite before clearance of the project by the Public Investment Board (PIB) or Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry.
Given its very structure, the majority of the projects recommended by the NPG are closely linked to the development of roads, railways, and urban infrastructure. These recommendations outline a critical step towards advancing economic growth and connectivity and reiterate the Government’s commitment to foster the nation’s transportation and logistics networks.
