One Year of PM Gati Shakti Expanding Frontiers

Launched in October 2021, the GIS- based Gati Shakti platform captures all utilities and network linkages in making it possible for various infrastructure focused ministries and departments to come together and take a coordinated approach towards faster development of projects, boosting last-mile connectivity and bringing down logistics cost.
Vinod Behl

The significance of PM Gati Shakti aimed at fast tracking infrastructure development can be gauged from the statistics underlining that 323 infra projects, each incurring an investment of Rs 150 crore and above, have seen cost overruns of Rs 4.66 trillion by August 2022 end. Under Gati Shakti, as many as 197 critical infra gap projects have been identified for fast tracking.

How PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan has transformed the entire ecosystem can be seen for itself. Prior to its introduction, individual infrastructure related ministries were planning and executing their projects in an isolated manner. However, under the Gati Shakti portal, all existing and proposed infrastructure projects are mapped against the overall NICD (National Industrial Corridor Development) program for providing seamless multimodal connectivity. They are planned and executed in an integrated manner for speedy completion of projects.

What really makes Gati Shakti truly unique and result-oriented, is its governance structure. At the apex level, there is an empowered group of secretaries (EGOS) under the chairmanship of cabinet secretary. To assist EGOS, there is a Network Planning Group (NPG) comprising heads of network planning division of all infra-related ministries. The Special Secretary in the Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) heads the NSG that monitors all logistics and connectivity projects with a potential investment of over Rs 500 crore.

PK Sinha, former principal advisor to the Prime Minister, describes the governance structure of Gati Shakti as the one designed as a watertight mechanism for achieving the desired outcomes. The one year report card of the PM Gati Shakti Program only endorses it. The Gati Shakti portal for central and state governments is now fully functional. As many as 26 states have integrated various data points with Gati Shakti NMP portal and 229 critical infra gaps have been reported, and necessary corrective measures recommended by the NPG to speed up the completion of projects for bringing in logistics efficiency. Over 900 data layers have been updated by central ministries and 316 essential layers by state governments and union territories. Around 125 rail projects have been identified for doubling and tripling of rail tracks. The Gati Shakti NMP is also being extensively employed by the ministries of highways and ports, besides the department of telecommunications.

Summing up the one year progress of PM Gati Shakti, Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary, Logistics Division of DPIIT, says, “Over the past one year, the maximum benefit has accrued in terms of minimizing uncertainties and disruptions in project execution, thereby reducing the time and cost overrun of projects. The use of digital technology for identification of critical gaps will help tackle challenges in a time-bound manner, which is key to swift movement of freight.”

Encouraged by the progress made during the last one year, ambitious targets have been set for key infrastructure ministries/departments, including highways, railways, aviation, ports, shipping, petroleum, telecom and renewable energy. The cumulative highway construction now has a revised target of 200000 km by 2025, up from 141000 km in the last financial year. Under Civil Aviation, the target of number of airports, heliports, water aerodromes including those under UDAN scheme has been increased from 140 in FY 22 to 220 by FY 25. The new target for cargo handling by ports is 1759 million tons per annum (MTPA) against 1189 MTPA. Similarly, the new oil and gas pipeline network target is 34500 km by FY 25 against 20000 km. The target for new and renewable energy has been revised to 225 gigawatts by FY 25, up from about 88 gigawatts.

Riding high on the series of structural reforms, the game changer PM Gati Shakti has set the foundation for a strong and vibrant economy, driven by rapid infrastructure development. Going forward, reforms like single window clearances will further add to the time and cost efficiency of projects. In post-covid times, when the focus is on digitally-driven infrastructure development, the country will be able to develop infra assets to emerge as a global powerhouse of business and economy.
Comprehensive BRO Habitat to Support Carbon Neutrality in Ladakh
Border Road Organisation (BRO) is a premier organisation for construction of roads and allied infrastructure along the border areas and has a vast footprint in the UT of Ladakh. It has extremely harsh and challenging terrains and sub-zero climate. It is

Read more ...

BRO’s Construction Activities Lead to Reverse Migration in Arunachal Pradesh
In India, the major drivers of both internal and international migration are unemployment, competitive labour market, poor livelihood prospects, and lack of proper infrastructure. Internal migration not only affects the livelihood of the people

Read more ...

Godrej Appliances Awards Contract for End-To-End Supply Chain to Delhivery Ltd.
Godrej Appliances, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce, has awarded the contract to build and manage the pan-India supply chain for their air-cooler business to Delhivery Ltd., a largest fully integrated logistics provider. Through this partnership, Delhivery

Read more ...

Infrastructure Sector to See Pre-Poll Boost in FY 2023-24
Having faced headwinds with slow pace of highway construction and port modernisation, besides project delays, the infrastructure sector is now set for a major boost in the pre-poll year of 2023, with a major budgetary and policy push from the

Read more ...

Construction costs up by 28% as of Nov 2022 but remain stable since March 2022: Colliers
As of November 2022, cost of construction has increased by 28% which is higher than the pre-pandemic (November 2019) levels; but continues to be stable compared to March 2022. The costs of key construction materials have jumped 32% in a span of three

Read more ...

Why Investors in India are Pivoting to REITs
Investment, income generation, and wealth creation are the cornerstone for living a purpose-driven and meaningful life. Traditionally, there have been two sources of investment and income generation- Real estate and stock market. In India and in other Asian economies

Read more ...

Real Estate in Resurgent Mode
Despite the severe global headwinds hitting the economy and leading to high inflation, the real estate sector, supported by the progressive government policies, has not only stood its ground, but has displayed remarkable growth. As the sector continues

Read more ...

Rise of Small Cities
Buoyed by the growing economic and business base, fast expanding infrastructure and connectivity, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are the new growth boosters of real estate. Particularly, post-pandemic, these cities have gained momentum to

Read more ...

Asset Monetization picks pace; NHAI looks to fast-track asset monetization process; Fastag toll collections continue upswing
According to the latest Infrastructure report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services, 1H FY23 has been muted with only 810 kms of projects awarded till date. Owing to the weak 1H, NHAI would have to accelerate project awarding in 2H FY23 in order to meet its

Read more ...

Construction of GTI GX Wall as Dump Wall for Mining
Development of Gabion Wall (700m length, max height of 34m, and average height 25m Length) on east side of East Cell Red Mud Pond (RMP), including Design, Vetting, and SPCB Approval for Vedanta, Odisha. Due to space constraint, client wanted to construct soil

Read more ...

National Logistics Policy An Economic Booster
The National Logistics Policy (NLP) aimed at developing a technologically enabled, integrated, cost-efficient, resilient, sustainable, and trusted ecosystem for accelerated and inclusive growth, is giving a push to real estate and infrastructure

Read more ...

Upward Momentum Continues in Real Estate Sector in 2022: CBRE- CII
CBRE South Asia released its ‘Indian Realty – charting the growth roadmap for 2022’ report at CII Realty 2022 - 18th Edition of Conference Real Estate. The CBRE-CII joint report highlights key trends and projections for the Indian Real Estate sector for 2022

Read more ...

Only one-fourth of the road assets moved out of rough patch, post default: ICRA
ICRA has conducted a study of 1201 Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) road projects which have defaulted during the period FY2011 – FY2022. Out of the 120 projects, 86 have defaulted during the operational phase while 34 projects defaulted during

Read more ...

InvITs: Why you need to include them in your investment portfolio
At a time when most traditional investment fields are yielding low returns, InvITs are emerging as a brilliant investment option for people looking for a diverse portfolio and who wish to stay invested for the long term. Nitan Chhatwal, MD, Shrem InvIT

Read more ...

Festive Realty Top Ten Trends to Drive Home Sales
The post-covid residential sales momentum is set to get a further boost in this festive season, notwithstanding headwinds in the form of rising interest rates and increase in home prices. Here are the Top 10 trends that will help drive festive home demand

Read more ...

Realty@75 - Reformed, Regulated, Reinvented & Responsible
Over the last 75 years of India’s Independence, the real estate sector has come a long way from an unorganised, unregulated family business to a corporatized, well-regulated, reformed, transparent, responsible, and future-ready industry. Vinod Behl

Read more ...

Growth & Trends Across All Real Estate Segments
Real estate investments register strong capital inflows, reach USD 3.4 billion in H1 2022. Foreign investors accounted for over 67% of total investment volume in Q2 2022. Office sector dominated investment activity with a share of about 57%

Read more ...

Land Monetization Promises & Pitfalls
A mega land monetisation plan through sale of surplus government and PSUs’ land is a part of Modi government’s ambitious National Monetisation Programme (NMP) to generate Rs 6 lakh crore of revenue over FY 2022-25. The success of this programme will depend

Read more ...

Making Urban India Sustainable Through Green Buildings
Buildings offer a huge opportunity to minimize energy consumption by merely changing the manner in which they are planned, constructed and operated. Jit Kumar Gupta, Retired Urban Planner, Advisor Town Planning, Punjab Urban Development Authority

Read more ...