[Answered] PM Gati Shakti Mission presents a holistic approach to solving India’s infrastructure challenges. Analyze the statement.

Gati Shakti scheme or National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity plan, was launched with the aim of coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects to bring down logistics costs.

India’s infrastructure sector faces the following challenges.

• Lack of co-ordination: There is a wide gap between macro planning and micro implementation due to the lack of coordination and advanced information sharing as departments think and work in silos.
• Land-acquisition and environmental clearances: Difficulty in getting Land-acquisition and environmental clearances delays the project and pushes up the cost.
• High logistics cost: Logistics costs in India are about 13-14% of GDP as against about 7-8% of GDP in developed economies.
• Increased cost of infrastructure creation: Different departments function in silos, which result in multiplicity of expenditure. For example, newly-built roads being dug up by the water department to lay pipes.
• Regulatory uncertainty and delays: Different departments and ministries having overlapping authority over the same infrastructure projects create multiplicity of regulation and uncertainty.
• Financial oriented issues: There are time and cost overruns which creates a burden on developers and results in cautious approach by Banks in lending to infrastructure sectors.
• Lack of last mile connectivity: India lacks good quality last mile connectivity in hinter lands which affect the inclusive growth in the country.

How Gati Shakti Mission will help in solving India’s infrastructure challenges.

• Coordination between ministries: Gati Shakti platform will connect 16 ministries including Roads and Highways, Railways, Shipping, with a view to ensuring holistic planning and execution of infrastructure projects.
• Data to support land acquisition and environment: The portal will offer 200 layers of geospatial data, including geographic information about forests, rivers and district boundaries to aid in planning and obtaining clearances.
• Real time monitoring and resolution of issues: The portal will allow various government departments to track, in real time and at one centralized place, the progress of various projects. which will also enable fast resolution of issues.
• Reduction in cost of infrastructure creation: Coordinated planning, execution and monitoring of infrastructure projects will result in cost and time saving. It will improve the sentiments of banks towards infrastructure lending.
• Improve the quality and reach of multimodal connectivity: PM Gati Shakti will incorporate the infrastructure schemes like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc. Hence, it will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time and logistics cost.

Gati Shakti is a step in the right direction but this initiative must be supported by a stable and predictable regulatory and institutional framework. It has to be implemented efficiently to achieve the desired benefits of the plan.