PM Gati Shakti has helped fast-track social sector schemes: DPIIT joint secretary

Surendra Ahirwar, joint secretary in the logistics division of the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

The Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which was launched in October 2021, is helping state governments to better plan out social sector projects, Surendra Ahirwar, joint secretary (logistics division), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), said.

Besides 24 central infrastructure and economic ministries, 12 social sector ministries have also now come on board the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan and have mapped their data, Ahirwar told Moneycontrol in an interview.

"The Gati Shakti National Master Plan will help in planning social infra better. For instance, once data of all primary-level schools are mapped on the portal, we can check areas that are underserved, possible constraints in connectivity to schools, etc, and take measures to address the gaps,” Ahirwar said.

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He added that since its launch, states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have used the data available on the platform to help develop better social infrastructure.

"Uttar Pradesh has mapped the entire dataset relating to schools in that state. They have also mapped the connectivity issue surrounding schools in the state... This will help them identify underserved areas so they can prioritise investment in the development of educational institutions in underserved areas," Ahirwar said.

Similarly, he added that in Gujarat, data available on the Gati Shakti NMP is being used to plan Anganwadis or rural childcare centres and also monitor them.

Ahirwar added that all states have come on board and are mapping some 29 essential data layers related to their infrastructure and logistics facilities on the NMP.

The data includes those related to land records, forest, wildlife, eco-sensitive zones, coastal regulation zones, reserve forests, water resources, rivers, embankments, canals, reservoirs dams, soil type, seismicity, flood maps, power transmission and distribution networks, mining areas, roads, water supply pipelines and sewer lines, among others.

The NMP has helped identify over 190 critical infrastructure gaps in five key sectors—ports, steel, coal, fertilisers, and food and public distribution. The line ministries have since been told to address these gaps.

Speaking about the National Logistics Policy, Ahirwar said that the ULIP (Unified Logistics Interface Platform) platform has been launched by the central government and some private companies have also started using data available on the platform.

"All the relevant ministries and the departments of the government of India are already integrated on ULIP, and the system has been tried and tested, and the data has been shared by different stakeholders including private startups and companies," Ahirwar said.

He added that in order to protect data on the ULIP platform, data is being shared as APIs (application programming interfaces) with stakeholders. He said that over the next few months, APIs including movement of train data, road traffic data, and commodity production and movement data will be integrated on the ULIP platform.

Ahirwar also said that a majority of states have also set up the institutional mechanism on the lines of PM Gati Shakti such as the empowered group of state secretaries and the Network Planning Group (NPG) to oversee the work that is being done.

Under the PM Gati Shakti Mission, right at the top, there is an empowered group of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary.

Next, there is the NPG, which has the persons in charge of planning of seven infrastructure ministries as members. The body meets once a fortnight to look at all project proposals from a coordination point of view.

Similarly, Ahirwar said that six ministries have submitted plans to improve the efficiency of their delivery infrastructure as part of the National Logistics Policy.

As part of the policy, the central government had asked 13 ministries to come up with sectoral plans for efficient logistics (SPELs) to focus on cross-sectoral integration and improving efficiency.

The ministries of railways, road transport and highways, ports, shipping and waterways, civil aviation, food processing, industries, power, chemicals and fertilisers, coal, steel, petroleum and natural gas, and housing and urban affairs, along with the Department of Telecommunications, were asked to create SPELs.

The government said in the NLP that while infrastructure development plans such as the national rail plan, Bharatmala and Sagarmala, exist, the creation of SPELs was necessary to address logistical issues pertaining to infrastructure, processes, digital improvements, policies, and regulatory matters and capacity building for a better workforce.

The central government had asked the ministries to come with SPELs through stakeholder interaction.