Budget 2022 :Gati Shakti picks up speed, gets first fund allocation of Rs 20,000 crore

Gati Shakti National Master Plan, a Rs 100-lakh-crore project for building holistic infrastructure in India, received its first ever outlay of Rs 20,000 crore in the Budget for the financial year 2022-23.

"PM Gati Shakti will encompass the seven engines for multi-modal connectivity for the states with speedier implementation of development projects through technology to facilitate faster movement of people and goods through Rs 20,000 crore financed by the government to speed up this project,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget in Parliament on February 1.

"PM Gati Shakti is a transformative approach, driven by roads, railways, ports, airports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure. All seven engines will pull the economy forward in unison," Sitharaman added.

The project will expand the national highway network by "25,000 km in 2022-23", the finance minister further noted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the project, a digital platform, in October 2021. Its objective is to bring 16 ministries, including railways and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.

Other ministries and departments on the platform include petroleum and gas, power, telecom, shipping and aviation. Each ministry and department will be able to access information about ongoing and upcoming projects to ensure a balanced and synchronised approach in planning and building infrastructure.

Also Read : GatiShakti: Modi launches 100-lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity, details here

The project aims to unshackle bureaucratic entanglements and end inter-ministerial silos that delay infrastructure projects and drive up costs. It also sets sectoral targets to be completed by 2024-25 in areas such as expanding national highways and increasing cargo capacity by the railway and shipping ministries.

Under the plan, the civil aviation ministry is expected to double the aviation footprint to 220 airports, heliports, and water aerodromes by 2024-25. Construction of pipelines, pumping up power transmission and boosting medium and small sector enterprises are also part of this plan.