Govt to provide access to certain data, maps from PM Gati Shakti portal to pvt sector

The government on Saturday announced to provide certain data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal to the private sector, a decision which could help them optimize last-mile delivery services and develop infrastructure-based applications. PM Gati Shakti national master plan initiative was launched in October 2021 for integrated and planned development of critical infrastructure projects to reduce logistics costs. “For furthering PPPs (public private partnerships) and assisting the private sector in project planning, access to relevant data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal will be provided,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

Using these data layers like track length details, railway stations, DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor), Good Sheds, national and state highways/ district layers, MMLPs (Multi Modal Logistics Parks), ware houses, existing airports from different ministries will help private sector to optimize last mile delivery services, developing infrastructure-based apps, smart city solutions and tech driven logistics management and also enable them for informed decision and better planning in healthcare sector, disaster management, agriculture sector, and food distribution.

All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing investment of over Rs 500 crore, route through the network planning group (NPG) constituted under the initiative. A GIS enabled national master plan digital platform has also been developed and over 1,300 data layers are uploaded by the Centre and states on this platform.

Data related to land records, ports, forest, schools, railway stations, water bodies, telecom towers, and highways are available on the portal.

For example, if the railway is planning a project on a specified route, so by putting the relevant data/information on the PM Gati Shakti national master plan portal/platform before finalising the DPR (detailed project report), it can see whether the proposed track is crossing through public land or private property or forest or canal or highways and accordingly make changes without visiting the area physically. The aim is to improve logistics efficiency by reducing the time and cost of transportation, simplifying procedures and creating an efficient logistics ecosystem. By the use of this platform, the DPRs are getting ready in 2-3 months (including ground truthing). Earlier it used to take 6-8 months through simultaneous visualisation of all relevant details available on the platform.

The minister also announced to start a National Geospatial Mission to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data.

“Using PM Gati Shakti, this Mission will facilitate modernization of land records, urban planning, and design of infrastructure projects,” she said.

This initiative, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) seeks to digitize land records using Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, enhancing accuracy, bringing in transparency and accessibility.