Nirmala Sitharaman asks Niti Aayog to map all industrial zones under Gati Shakti initiative

The Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked the Niti Aayog to prepare a report that maps all the industrial zones including industrial corridors, logistics parks and pharma hubs to be incorporated under the PM Gati Shakti initiative. Sitharaman also urged the shipping ministry to explore linkages that can be achieved between seaports and the industrial corridors.

These suggestions were made by the minister while she chaired the first meeting of the Apex Monitoring Authority for the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme(NICDP).

"I would like the NITI Aayog to map all this (industrial corridors, freight corridors, defence corridors, manufacturing zones, textile parks, logistics parks, medical and pharma hubs). Map it all and tell us where you see a possibility for bringing them under the PM Shakti," Sitharaman said. "I find many of them still lying loose and unconnected. Mapping it up will probably give a better idea of how they can all come into this scheme of things," she added.

She added that Gati Shakti National Master Plan will bring greater coherence in all investments pertaining to infrastructure projects.