Cabinet approves PM GatiShakti National Master Plan

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, including implementation, monitoring and support mechanism, for providing multi-modal connectivity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 13, had launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy.

It targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time.

''The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, including the institutional framework for rolling out, implementation, monitoring and support mechanism, for providing multi-modal connectivity,'' an official statement said.

An Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS) headed by the Cabinet Secretary and secretaries of 18 ministries as members, among others, will be set up. Briefing the media regarding the decision, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said a Multimodal Network Planning Group (NPG) will be constituted with representation from the heads of the Network Planning Division from various ministries and departments.

The NPG will be supported by a technical support unit (TSU) located in the Logistics Division of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The TSU will have domain experts from various infrastructure sectors, such as aviation, maritime, public transport, rail, roads and highways, ports, power, pipeline, GIS, ICT, finance/market PPP, logistics, data analytics, among others.

The EGOS has been mandated to review and monitor the implementation of the PM GatiShakti NMP to ensure logistics efficiency.

The group is empowered to prescribe framework and norms for undertaking any subsequent amendments to the NMP, according to the statement.

It will also set out the procedure and definitive framework for synchronisation of various activities and ensure that infrastructure development initiatives are part of the common integrated digital platform. ''EGOS will also look at the interventions required to meet the demand side, in efficiently transporting bulk goods on the requirement of various Ministries like steel, coal, and fertilizer,'' the statement said.

The CCEA has also approved formation, composition and terms of reference for Network Planning Group (NPG) consisting of heads of Network Planning wing of respective infrastructure ministries and it will assist the EGOS.

Because of the complexities involved in the overall integration of networks, enhancing optimisation to avoid duplication of works for holistic development of any region as well as reducing logistics costs through micro-plan detailing, the TSU is approved for providing the required competencies. The PM GatiShakti NMP is intended to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects to address the issues of multi-modal connectivity and last-mile connectivity. ''With this approval, PM GatiShakti shall bring in various stakeholders together and help integrate different modes of transportation,'' it added.

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