Need to find ways to build cost effective infrastructure: PM Modi

Addressing a webinar on vision of Gatishakti and its convergence with the Union Budget, the Prime Minister said, "The PM Gatishakti will lead to rapid infrastructure development and also generate employment."

"With the help of PM Gatishakti we can carry forward the planning, implementation and monitoring of infrastructure development schemes in a coordinated manner. With Gatishakti, we will be able to optimally utilise our resources," he further said.

The PM Gatishakti aims to create next generation infrastructure by learning from the past which is prepared to address the missing gaps to ensure seamless movement of people, goods and services.

The PM underlined the lack of coordination among the stakeholders in the traditional ways of completing projects.

This was due to lack of clear information among the various concerned departments.

"Due to PM Gatishakti, now everyone will be able to make their plan with complete information. This will also lead to optimum utilization of the country's resources," he added.

The Prime Minister stated that the scope of PM Gatishakti National Master Plan will further reduce the compliance burden.

From National Highway, Railway, Airway, Waterway, Optical Fibre to Gas grid, the government has increased investment in various sectors, he said.

"We are focused on synergising planning, development and monitoring plans for better infrastructural development," he said.

He claimed that to reduce the logistics cost, the government has made the provision of the United Logistic Interface Platform in the Budget this year.

"To strengthen cooperative federalism, the Centre has decided to help the states with allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore, state governments can use this fund to develop multimodal infrastructure. The state governments will be able to use this amount on multimodal infrastructure and other productive assets," he asserted.

A new scheme PM's Development Initiative for North- East will fund infrastructure, in the spirit of PM Gatishakti, and social development projects based on the needs of the North East, he said.

The Prime Minister informed that in PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan, more than 400 data layers are available now, informing not just the existing and proposed infrastructure but also information about the forest land and available industrial estate.

The Prime Minister claimed that the PM Gatishakti will help India's exports and make Indian MSMEs globally competitive.

This webinar is attended by high ranking officials from various stakeholder Ministries, leading academics and industry representatives come together to discuss and chart out the strategy for enhancing India's logistics efficiency.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will chair the concluding session of the day wherein the leaders for all themes will present their outcomes and elaborate on the way forward.

The PM Gatishakti aims to enhance ease of living, ease of doing business, minimise disruptions and expedite completion of works with cost efficiencies, the government said in a statement.