Workshop to sensitise user Ministries/ Departments about onboarding of GIS Data Layers on PM GatiShakti and benefits of using platform

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, organised a pivotal Workshop on 'Integration of Economic/User Ministries/Departments on PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP' on 3rd April 2024 in New Delhi. The workshop was chaired by Additional Secretary (Logistics), DPIIT, Shri Rajeev Singh Thakur, aimed to sensitise the Economic/User Ministries/ Departments about onboarding of GIS Data Layers on the PM GatiShakti NMP, benefits of using the platform for planning and to review the progress made in this respect.

Additional Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Rajeev Singh Thakur, highlighted PM GatiShakti principles to be adopted for integrated planning and holistic development of socio-economic infrastructure. He further emphasized PMGS-NMP as a comprehensive and sustainable strategy to reshape India’s infrastructure, by fostering integrated planning and harmonised project implementation involving all relevant Ministries and State Governments. This “whole-of-the-government” approach is embraced to enhance decision-making in project planning as well as ‘ease of doing’ and ‘ease of living’.

Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Dr. Surendra Kumar Ahirwar, mentioned that adoption of PM GatiShakti NMP by economic Ministries is important not only for efficient data driven planning of its own infra/schemes but also for planning of infra/schemes by infra/social Ministries as well as States/UTs. Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Shri E Srinivas, stated integration of Economic/User Ministries on the PMGS-NMP will ensure the efficient realisation of the core principles of GatiShakti—logistical efficiency, multimodality, and connectivity to economic hubs.

The workshop witnessed enthusiastic participation from over 32 officials representing 18 ministries/departments, including Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Fertilisers, Coal, Commerce, Food & Public Distribution, Defence Production, Electronics & Information Technology, Economic Affairs, Revenue, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Fisheries, Food Processing Industries, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mines, Steel, Earth Sciences, and Pharmaceuticals. More than 20 officials from BISAG-N and Logistics Division, DPIIT were also present.

The event commenced with a thought-provoking video on PM GatiShakti, followed by a comprehensive presentation by the Logistics Division, DPIIT, highlighting the overview, progress, benefits, and the way forward for the ambitious program. BISAG-N, the technical partner, provided an insightful presentation on the technical architecture of PMGS-NMP and tools developed for various ministries enabling participants to gain a practical understanding of its features.

The core segment of the workshop involved presentations from the economic/user ministries/departments, showcasing their status of adoption of PM GatiShakti and the necessary steps taken in line with the provided pointers. This interactive session facilitated an exchange of best practices, challenges faced, and potential solutions, fostering a collaborative approach towards seamless implementation, leading to a conclusion that the Ministries/Departments should proactively identify and upload various data layers on the PMGS-NMP, develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for data management, and enhance capacity to independently plan projects and programs utilising PMGS-NMP and develop specific Planning Tools.

As a way forward, specific action points were highlighted, involving identification of  interventions followed by analysis, leading to accelerated adoption of PM GatiShakti principles in planning of socio-economic infrastructures.

The use of the PMGS-NMP platform has generated successful use cases in the infrastructure sector such as urban transport, roadways, railways, etc., along with benefits to users. The use of PMGS-NMP has significantly de-risked infrastructure investments for the private sector, streamlined operations and decision-making for Ministries/Departments and States/UTs. The GatiShakti approach is also helping to plan disaster management, location of social sector assets, development of tourism circuits, etc., in a manner to give maximum connectivity for the users. Recognizing the significant progress made by Infrastructure and Social sector Ministries, the workshop focused on enabling Economic/User Ministries to effectively leverage the PMGS-NMP platform.

Integrated planning on PM GatiShakti platform strengthens coordinated infrastructure decision making and mandates GIS data onboarding. DPIIT promoted onboarding of GIS data layers onto the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to enable integrated planning and harmonised project implementation; ministries were urged to upload data layers, develop SOPs for data management, build planning capacity, and deploy ministry specific planning tools. The workshop highlighted PMGS NMP principles-logistical efficiency, multimodality, and connectivity-presented system architecture and tools, reviewed adoption status and best practices, and set action points to identify interventions, analyse data, and accelerate platform adoption to streamline operations and de risk infrastructure investments.