PM GatiShakti: 396 infra projects worth Rs 18.66 lakh crore recommended for approval
The Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan has evaluated and recommended 396 infrastructure projects, together valued at approximately Rs 18.66 lakh crore, for approval.
Of these, 256 projects have already been sanctioned, and 198 are currently under implementation across the country.
The projects span core infrastructure sectors including roads, railways, ports and waterways, power, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation, telecommunications, and industrial corridors.
The exercise is aimed at integrated, multimodal infrastructure planning to reduce logistics costs and improve last-mile connectivity.
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan
PM GatiShakti is a digital platform launched on 13 October 2021 to bring together 16 central ministries and departments (later expanded further) for integrated planning and coordinated execution of infrastructure projects. It uses a GIS-based geospatial platform to overlay data from various ministries so that projects across sectors are planned jointly rather than in silos, reducing time and cost overruns caused by uncoordinated execution (e.g., a road being dug up repeatedly for different utility works).
Key Details
- Launched: 13 October 2021, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (nodal: DPIIT / Logistics Division).
- Built around seven engines: Railways, Roads, Ports, Waterways, Airports, Mass Transport, and Logistics Infrastructure, supported by Energy, Water, and Digital infrastructure and Social infrastructure as cross-cutting layers.
- Objective: multimodal and last-mile connectivity, reduction of logistics cost, and time-bound project execution.
The 396 projects worth Rs 18.66 lakh crore evaluated by the NPG demonstrate the scale at which PM GatiShakti is now operating as the central clearing mechanism for major central infrastructure investment decisions.
Network Planning Group (NPG)
The NPG is an inter-ministerial body constituted under PM GatiShakti to appraise infrastructure project proposals from an integrated and multimodal perspective before they proceed for formal appraisal or approval (e.g., by the Public Investment Board or competent authority). It is chaired by the Special Secretary (Logistics), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Key Details
- Comprises secretaries/senior officers from infrastructure ministries (Railways, Road Transport, Ports, Civil Aviation, Petroleum, Power, Telecom, etc.).
- Assesses projects on parameters such as multimodality, synchronisation with existing/planned infrastructure, and utilisation of the National Master Plan portal's data layers.
- NPG clearance is a precursor to, not a substitute for, statutory/financial approvals such as those from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) or Public Investment Board.
It is the NPG's periodic evaluation meetings that produced the cumulative tally of 396 projects worth Rs 18.66 lakh crore recommended for approval, reflecting the pace of project appraisal since the platform's launch.
National Logistics Policy, 2022 and Logistics Cost Reduction
The National Logistics Policy (NLP), released in September 2022, is the policy companion to PM GatiShakti's physical infrastructure focus. It aims to create a technology-enabled, efficient logistics ecosystem, lower logistics costs, and improve India's ranking on global logistics indices, complementing PM GatiShakti's project-planning function.
Key Details
- NLP mandated a standardised, comprehensive methodology to measure India's logistics cost as a share of GDP.
- The first such official assessment placed India's logistics cost at 7.97% of GDP for 2023-24, replacing earlier informal estimates of 13-14% of GDP.
- Implementing agency for logistics coordination: Logistics Division, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Faster clearance of integrated infrastructure projects via the NPG is one of the levers cited for bringing down India's logistics cost, alongside dedicated freight corridors and the Sagarmala programme.
- 396 projects evaluated by the NPG, cumulatively worth about Rs 18.66 lakh crore.
- 256 of these projects already sanctioned; 198 under implementation.
- PM GatiShakti National Master Plan launched 13 October 2021.
- India's logistics cost estimated at 7.97% of GDP for 2023-24, per the first systematic official assessment under the National Logistics Policy (2022).