PM Gati Shakti to facilitate last mile connectivity; kick start virtuous cycle of investment: Goyal

The PM Gati Shakti initiative will facilitate last mile connectivity and kick start a virtuous cycle of private and public investment which will have a multiplier impact on the economy, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

The PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan was announced last year 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 and last-mile connectivity.

He said it is a one nation, one master plan to facilitate prioritisation, optimisation and synchronisation.

This will help us bring down logistics costs comparable to the best in the world, Goyal said, adding it has an ability to help industries locate factories of the future, and enable centre and states to plan utilities.

''It will help implement a holistic approach for ease of living and ease of business,'' Goyal said while addressing a webinar on PM GatiShakti: Creating Synergy for Accelerated Economic Growth.

For years, one of the country's finest ports, JNPT, had ''very bad'' connectivity because of ''bad'' planning and that is what this government is trying to change with this initiative, the minister said.

The lack of coordination between the centre and states and uneven growth across India will change with this plan, he added.

This platform, he said, can help speed up processes, reduce cost-overruns and improve quality of work.

''It will create a seamless project management process...The PM Gati Shakti envisions an acceleration to the Indian economy and thereby the entire nation through seven engines of progress - roads, railways, airports, ports, waterways, mass transports, and logistics infrastructure,'' he said.

Goyal said with concerted efforts and the best possible use of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, it was possible to lower logistics cost to 7-8 per cent of GDP, ''one of the lowest in the world'', and increase India's competitive edge in the global market.

''We must aim to increase infrastructure investment and enable supply side infra financing both by public and private sector,'' he said.

The minister added that there was a need for workable financial models for projects to prepare smarter concession agreements with least scope of litigations and come up with options for long-term and cost-effective agreements to encourage private sector participation in infrastructure projects.

Goyal also called for multi-stakeholder collaboration across academia, industry and government for data sharing and upskilling the logistics sector.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)