New Delhi: As many as 396 infrastructure projects of different ministries, including roads and railways, worth Rs 18.66 lakh crore have been recommended for approval under the PM GatiShakti initiative, according to government data.
These projects have been recommended by the Network Planning Group (NPG) constituted under the PM GatiShakti initiative launched on October 13, 2021.
“As on date, 396 infrastructure projects with total estimated cost of about Rs 18.66 lakh crore have been evaluated through the NPG mechanism. Of these, 396 projects, 256 projects have been sanctioned — out of which, 198 projects are under implementation,” the data showed.
The initiative was launched to develop an integrated infrastructure to reduce logistics costs. All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing investments of over Rs 500 crore are routed through the NPG.
Addressing the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said under Gati Shakti, “we must focus on seamless and fast connectivity across the country”.
Commenting on the initiative, experts said Gati Shakti must connect not only cities and ports, but the entire journey from factory gate to consumer doorstep.
“Physical infrastructure creates capacity; digital orchestration converts that capacity into commerce. The next phase of India’s logistics transformation will depend on integrating multimodal infrastructure with real-time visibility, intelligent routing and predictable last-mile execution,” Suryansh Jalan, CBO, FarEye, said.
He added that this can reduce the cost of movement, improve the competitiveness of Indian businesses and turn India’s logistics network into a strategic economic advantage.
