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NEW DELHI : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, including a three-tier institutional framework to roll out the multi-modal connectivity.
According to the Cabinet approval, the three-tier implementation framework includes Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS), Network Planning Group (NPG) and Technical Support Unit (TSU) with required technical competencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the masterplan last week.
EGOS will be headed by Cabinet Secretary and will consist of secretaries of 18 ministries as members and head of logistics division in the industry department as member convenor. EGOS has been mandated to review and monitor implementation of the PM GatiShakti NMP to ensure logistics efficiency. It is empowered to prescribe framework and norms for undertaking any subsequent amendments to the NMP. “EGOS shall also set out the procedure and definitive framework for synchronization of various activities, and ensure that various initiatives of infrastructure development are part of the common integrated digital platform. EGOS will also look at the interventions required to meet the demand side, in efficiently transporting bulk goods on the requirement of various ministries such as steel, coal, and fertilizer," the Cabinet secretariat said in a statement.
CCEA has also approved formation, composition and terms of reference for Network Planning Group (NPG) consisting of heads of Network Planning wing of respective infrastructure ministries that will assist the EGOS.
Further, in view of the complexities involved in overall integration of networks, enhancing optimization to avoid duplication of work for holistic development of any region as well as reducing logistics costs through micro-plan detailing, the Technical Support Unit (TSU) is approved for providing the required competencies. “TSU shall have domain experts from various infrastructure sectors such as aviation, maritime, public transport, rail, roads and highways, and subject matter experts (SMEs) such as in urban and transport planning, structures (roads, bridges and buildings), power, pipeline, GIS (geographic information system), ICT (Information and communications technology), finance/market PPP (public private partnership), logistics, and data analytics," it added.
The PM GatiShakti NMP is intended to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects with a view to address the issues of multi modal connectivity and last mile connectivity. This will help bring down logistics costs and will translate into enormous economic gains to consumers, farmers, youth and those engaged in businesses.
“With this approval, the rollout of PM GatiShakti will get further momentum, which will result in holistic and integrated planning framework for infrastructure development in the country. With this approval, PM GatiShakti shall bring in various stakeholders together and help integrate different modes of transportation," the statement said.
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