Chhattisgarh steps up geospatial, logistics planning with two PM GatiShakti pacts
Chhattisgarh signed two memoranda of understanding to strengthen its implementation of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan: one with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) for geospatial technology applications, and another with National Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDSL) for integrated logistics data services.
The agreements were signed at the PM GatiShakti and LEADS 2025 Dissemination Workshop held in Raipur, jointly organised by the state's Department of Commerce and Industries and the Union Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The state has onboarded more than 35 departments onto the PM GatiShakti geospatial platform to enable integrated infrastructure planning.
Planned applications include GIS-based identification of road accident black spots to guide targeted road-safety interventions, alongside broader use of geospatial data for infrastructure and investment planning.
Chhattisgarh has been recognised among the better-performing states in operationalising the PM GatiShakti framework.
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (2021)
PM GatiShakti is a Rs 100 lakh crore National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, launched to overcome fragmented, siloed infrastructure planning across ministries by unifying project data on a single GIS-based digital platform. It integrates the economic zones and infrastructure schemes of Central ministries and state governments through seven identified "growth engines."
Key Details
- Launched on 13 October 2021 by the Union Government
- Built around seven engines: Railways, Roads, Ports, Airports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics Infrastructure
- Institutional architecture includes the Network Planning Group (NPG, at the Secretary level) for project appraisal and the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) for monitoring
- Brings together infrastructure data from over a dozen Central ministries/departments on a common geospatial platform hosted with technical support from BISAG-N
Chhattisgarh's onboarding of 35+ departments and its BISAG-N pact directly extend the PM GatiShakti platform's core objective — layering state-level infrastructure and investment data onto the same national geospatial system used for multi-ministry project planning.
BISAG-N — Institutional Backbone for Geospatial Governance
The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) is the technical nodal agency that provides satellite communication, remote sensing, and GIS-based decision-support tools to Central and state governments, including for the PM GatiShakti platform itself.
Key Details
- Originated as the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG) in Gujarat (2003); elevated to a national institute (BISAG-N) under the Union Cabinet's approval, functioning under MeitY
- Works across three domains — satellite communication, geo-informatics, and geospatial technology — supporting applications in disaster management, urban planning, agriculture, and infrastructure monitoring
- Provides the geospatial backend that PM GatiShakti's National Master Plan portal draws on for overlaying infrastructure, land-use, and forest/environmental clearance layers
Chhattisgarh's pact formalises state-level access to BISAG-N's geospatial tools, enabling applications such as GIS-based road black-spot identification — a direct, testable use case of remote sensing/GIS in governance.
National Logistics Policy (2022) and LEADS Index
The National Logistics Policy, released in September 2022, aims to reduce India's logistics cost as a share of GDP and improve the country's logistics ecosystem through better data integration — the mandate under which NLDSL and the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index operate.
Key Details
- National Logistics Policy (2022) works alongside PM GatiShakti (which addresses physical/infrastructure integration) to address the "soft" logistics ecosystem — regulatory processes, digital systems, and skill development
- LEADS is an annual, DPIIT-administered index that ranks states/UTs on logistics performance across pillars such as logistics infrastructure, services, operating and regulatory environment, and (from recent editions) sustainable logistics
- States are categorised into tiers such as "Achievers"/"Exemplars," "Fast Movers," and "Aspirers" based on their LEADS performance
- National Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDSL), incorporated under the Logistics Division of DPIIT, operates the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) that integrates logistics-related data from multiple government systems
The Raipur workshop where the pacts were signed was explicitly tied to the "LEADS 2025" dissemination exercise, and Chhattisgarh's NLDSL agreement plugs the state into ULIP-based logistics data integration, linking its performance to the LEADS ranking framework.
- PM GatiShakti National Master Plan: launched 13 October 2021, envisaged outlay of about Rs 100 lakh crore, built on seven infrastructure "engines"
- BISAG-N: elevated from a Gujarat state institute (BISAG, 2003) to a national institute under MeitY; core domains are satellite communication, geo-informatics, and geospatial technology
- National Logistics Policy: released September 2022, complements PM GatiShakti by targeting logistics cost reduction and process integration
- LEADS index: DPIIT's annual state logistics ranking across four pillars, with states classified from "Aspirers" to top-tier "Achievers/Exemplars" categories
- Chhattisgarh has onboarded 35+ state departments onto the PM GatiShakti geospatial platform and signed pacts with both BISAG-N and NLDSL at the PM GatiShakti and LEADS 2025 Dissemination Workshop in Raipur