Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan
"A digital platform integrating 16 ministries' infrastructure data to enable coordinated, multi-modal connectivity planning"
PM Gati Shakti — National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity is a digital platform launched in October 2021 that integrates data from 16 central ministries and all state governments on a single GIS-based portal. It aims to break silos in infrastructure planning by allowing all agencies to see each other's projects and plan complementary infrastructure simultaneously, reducing delays, cost overruns, and duplication. The platform is built on BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics) geospatial technology.
Key topic for GS3 (Infrastructure, Economy) and GS2 (Governance). The PM Gati Shakti NMP represents a paradigm shift from siloed ministry-wise planning to integrated national infrastructure planning. It directly supports the goal of reducing logistics costs (currently ~13-14% of GDP; target: below 8%, comparable to global benchmarks).
- 1 Launched October 13, 2021 by PM Narendra Modi — named after Gati (speed) + Shakti (power)
- 2 Integrates 16 ministries — Railways, Roads, Ports, Waterways, Aviation, Telecom, Energy, Power, Petroleum, Coal, and others
- 3 Built on BISAG-N's GIS platform — satellite imaging, mapping, and geospatial analytics
- 4 Seven engines of growth identified — Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, Logistics Infrastructure
- 5 Network Planning Group (NPG) under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) oversees implementation
- 6 India's logistics cost at ~13-14% of GDP vs. global average of 8% — reducing this is a major economic goal
- 7 National Logistics Policy (NLP) 2022 is the complementary policy framework; ULIP (Unified Logistics Interface Platform) is its digital backbone
- 8 PM Gati Shakti replaced older model of ad hoc, sequential infrastructure approvals — now enables parallel processing
- 9 All 36 states and UTs integrated onto the platform by 2023
Under PM Gati Shakti, if the Railways plans a new freight corridor, the platform instantly shows the Ministry of Roads where highway connectivity is needed, the Ministry of Ports where last-mile port links are missing, and state governments where land acquisition is planned — enabling all to plan simultaneously rather than sequentially.