Outlining Modi government’s ambitious project — PM GatiShakti National Master Plan — as one of the four big priorities, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced massive public investment for multi-modal connectivity in her Budget 2022 speech on Tuesday. The Rs 100-lakh-crore project for building holistic infrastructure in India, GatiShakti National Master Plan will receive its first-ever outlay of Rs 20,000 crore in the Budget for the financial year 2022-23.
As Asia’s third-largest economy and the world’s sixth-largest and fastest-growing economy, India is estimated to expand 9.2 per cent in the ongoing fiscal year that ends on March 31, after a contraction of 7.3 per cent in the previous fiscal. With the rapid expansion, a solid infrastructure has become imperative, a fact that the government has recognised as a futuristic and promising sector.
The GatiShakti will be driven by seven engines — roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways, and logistics infrastructure — for coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects that will be developed by the States as per the master plan. The objective will be to bring down the logistics costs. GatiShakti — a digital platform — aims to bring 16 Ministries, including Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister outlined the promised development in each of these seven ‘engines’.
Road Transport: The master plan for expressways will be formulated in 2022-23 to expedite the movement of people and goods, and the National Highways network will be expanded by 25,000 km in 2022-23. A budget of Rs 20,000 crore has been allocated, which will be mobilised through innovative ways of financing to complement the public resources.
Seamless multimodal movement: For time-efficient and cost-effective logistics, just-in-time inventory management and to remove tedious documentation, data exchange among all mode operators will be brought on Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), designed for Application Programming Interface (API). This will provide real-time information and improve international competitiveness. Open-source mobility stack, for organising seamless travel of passengers will also be facilitated, the Minister said.
Multimodal Logistics Parks: Contracts for implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations through PPP mode will be awarded in 2022-23.
Railways: The sector will develop new products and efficient logistics for small farmers and SMEs. It will also take the lead in the integration of Postal and Railways networks to ensure a seamless transition of parcels.
‘One Station-One Product’ concept will be promoted to help local businesses and supply chains.
As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, 2,000 km of the network will be brought under Kavach — the indigenous world-class technology for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23. 400 energy-efficient Vande Bharat Trains will be developed and manufactured during the next three years for an enhanced passenger experience.
100 PM GatiShakti Cargo Terminals will be developed for multimodal logistics facilities.
Mass Urban Transport: Centre will facilitate multi-modal connectivity between mass transport and railway stations on priority. Metro systems design will be reoriented and standardised for Indian conditions and needs.
Parvatmala: The National Ropeways Development Programme will be taken up on PPP mode as a preferred ecologically-sustainable alternative to conventional roads in difficult hilly areas. Contracts for eight ropeway projects for a length of 60 km will be awarded in 2022-23. The purpose of this project would be to improve connectivity and convenience for commuters and promote tourism. It is also likely to cover congested urban areas where a conventional mass transit system is not feasible.
Capacity Building for Infrastructure Projects: With technical support from the Capacity Building Commission, central ministries, State governments and their infra-agencies will have their skills upgraded. This will ramp up capacity in planning, design, financing (including innovative ways), and implementation management of the PM GatiShakti infrastructure projects.
The Finance Minister proposed an allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore for 2022-23 to assist the States in catalysing overall investments in the economy. These 50-year interest-free loans are over and above the normal borrowings allowed to the States. The allocation will be used for GatiShakti-related and other productive capital investments at the State-level. It will also include supplemental funding for priority segments of PM Gram Sadak Yojana (including support for the States’ share); digitisation of the economy (including digital payments and completion of OFC network); and reforms related to building byelaws, town planning schemes, transit-oriented development, and transferable development rights.
