Gati Shakti To Fast Track Infrastructure Projects, Says Prime Minister

PM Gati Shakti master plan, which was launched by the government last year to bring in an integrated planning and execution of large scale projects, will give a new direction to the development of modern infrastructure, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

Addressing a post-budget webinar on Gati Shakti, Mr Modi said that through planning, implementation and monitoring as well as cutting down on time and cost overruns of projects, the master plan will help fast track infrastructure projects.

He also asked corporates to partner with government and increase investments and contribute in the development of the country.

"Infrastructure planning, implementation and monitoring will get a new direction from PM Gati Shakti. This will also bring down the time and cost overrun of the projects," the prime minister said while addressing the webinar.

The PM Gati Shakti will also ensure true public-private partnership in infrastructure creation from infrastructure planning to development and utilisation stage, Mr Modi said further.

This year's budget, he said, has set the pace of India's development in the 21st century and this direction of infrastructure-based development will lead to an extraordinary increase in the strength of the Indian economy and create many new possibilities of employment.

He underlined the lack of coordination among the stakeholders in the traditional ways of completing projects.

"This was due to lack of clear information among the various concerned departments. Now because of PM Gati Shakti, everyone will be able to make their plan with complete information. This will also lead to optimum utilisation of the country's resources," he added.

The prime minister said that in 2013-14, the direct capital expenditure of the government was about Rs 2.50 lakh crore, which has increased to Rs 7.5 lakh crore in 2022-23.

He also informed that under Gati Shakti master plan, "more than 400 data layers are available now, which give information on not just the existing and proposed infrastructure but also about the forest land and available industrial estate".

He suggested that the private sector should also use it for their planning, adding that all important information regarding the national master plan is now available on one platform.