Two-day workshop on PM GatiShakti NMP of 6 states organised by DPIIT

VARANASI : The two-day regional workshop on the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP), being organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, government of India, commenced at Girija Devi Cultural Complex auditorium here on Tuesday with an objective to promote its wider adoption for holistic planning, bring more vigour and build synergy with all the stakeholders.

Regarding Tuesday’s activities, Anil Sagar Principal Secretary, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Department (IIDD), UP government said, “The inaugural day of the workshop featured discussions on infrastructure planning for multimodal connectivity using already executed or under progress cases from ministries and departments at the Centre and state levels.”

Special secretary, DPIIT, Smt. Sumita Dawra said that these improvements bring ease of logistics. “It brings down logistics cost and our standard becomes globally comparable. Our manufacturing becomes globally competitive. This is very important for make India to bring down the logistic cost,” she said.

Speaking on the second day of the two-day of Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan workshop in Varanasi, she added, “States should establish city logistics committees and develop logistics plans for efficient freight flow management.”

Dawra also requested the states to conduct inter-department meetings to create awareness on PM Gati Shakti and create infrastructure for an efficient logistics ecosystem. She said that states should interact with investors/regional business associations to understand the interventions needed for better infrastructure and logistics systems.

The senior official pointed out that Human Resources Development, Skilling and Capacity Building in Logistics are the focus courses on logistics and supply chain which will be integrated in course curriculum of universities. She advocated for a cluster-based area approach to develop economic centres. Further, she said that the economic corridors may be strengthened by leveraging inland waterways connectivity and attracting private investments in logistics-related infrastructure.

Significantly, Dawra also requested for involving start-ups to promote logistics efficiency. She also underlined the importance of the use of technology and green initiatives while planning the logistics eco-system, which will include — ‘planning for infrastructure development for new India’ and ‘developing an efficient logistics ecosystem’.

Separately, Anurag Jain, secretary, DPIIT, Government of India, urged the states to take PM Gati Shakti to district and gram panchayat levels. He appreciated efforts towards integrated planning for infrastructure development and social sector decision-making while motivating the states to bring out their State Logistics Policies. He also highlighted the importance of data quality and authenticity for accurate planning on NMP (National Master Plan) or SMP (State Master Plan).

Presentations on the adoption of the PM GatiShakti with a holistic approach and demonstrations of best practices by states also featured in the workshop. Deliberations on requirements for State Master Planning, with special attention on data quality management, cluster-based area approach to develop economic centres in the states/UTs through adequate multimodal connectivity, holistic planning approach for the upcoming infrastructure projects, use of technology for logistics efficiency through Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), remained the main highlights of the first day of the programme.
Officials from the Central ministries and states shared their experiences including the proposed Gorakhpur – Siliguri Greenfield alignment, Indo-Nepal Border-Haldia greenfield corridor to show how they will help to improve connectivity to economic nodes, railway stations, airports, waterways and also reduction in the length of the alignment to reduce travel time saving fuel and others.

Other ministries, NITI Aayog and participating states including UP, Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand also shared their experiences.

Dawra said PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach which was launched in October 2021 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for planning and building next generation infrastructure in the country, thereby promoting multimodal logistics connectivity to improve both ‘Ease of Living’ as well as ‘Ease of Doing Business.’

Over 120 participants including senior government officials related to infrastructure, the economic and social sectors from different Central ministries, state departments, BISAG-N, NITI Aayog, and NICDC are participating in the workshop. She said that since the launch of the PM GatiShakti NMP, the concerned ministries and all the states/UTs are being boarded on mission-mode. Institutional frameworks have been set up, GIS-based individual portals and customised decision-making tools have been developed, along with in-house capacities to adopt PM GatiShakti principles in project planning and implementation. Presently, GIS data based NMP is being extensively used for project planning and implementation by ministries at central level and most states.

She said the area approach concept was also discussed with a view to promote comprehensive, holistic, and integrated infrastructure development across the country, along with bridging critical infrastructure gaps, and addressing relative infrastructure deficit, across various economic zones/ industrial parks, etc.