PM Gati Shakti to become infrastructure planning tool for entire world: Union minister Goyal

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the PM Gati Shakti mechanism, a technology-backed infrastructure development platform implemented by the Narendra Modi government, will become a planning tool for the entire world in the years to come.

Goyal made the comments while addressing a seminar on 'PM Gati Shakti: Informed Decision Making for Holistic Development' organised at Mahatma Mandir convention centre here as part of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day.

"As we assess the outcomes of PM Gati Shakti, and some of the outcomes were already shared with you, this overall architecture, in my humble view, and I this say this with great responsibility and conviction, that PM Gati Shakti in the years to come will become a planning tool of infrastructure not only for India or Asia, but for the entire world," Goyal said.

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A PM Gati Shakti-driven approach towards infrastructure planning will help create an enabling environment to make India the third largest economy in the world, noted the Union minister.

The PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity -- is a digital platform to bring 16 ministries together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects, said a release.

It was launched by Prime Minister Modi in October 2021.

Goyal further maintained that PM Gati Shakti is India's offering to the world and Modi envisaged such a concept nearly 18 year ago when he was Gujarat chief minister.

"Soon after he was given the charge of Gujarat (as CM) after the devastating earthquake (of January 2001), he realised that to get Gujarat back in shape and make it a preferred investment destination in the country, infrastructure will have to be the core focus area," said Goyal.

In the past, it was considered normal in India if an infrastructure project got delayed by 8 to 12 years and its cost went up, stated the Union minister.

"In my view, a project that gets delayed is the worst form of corruption. Because, through that project (cost) overrun, ultimately people pay for all this infrastructure. It's your taxpayers money. PM Modi wants to change this model. He demands that any government work has to be fast-tracked and done within stipulated time and cost," said Goyal.

Giving an example, the Union minister pointed out that construction work of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai was awarded to the contractor originally for Rs 420 crore through a tendering process, but the contractor was paid Rs 1,800 crore and yet the project was only half done.

"As a nation, 'chalta hai' (casual attitude) was our approach. PM Modi never accepted this approach. He demands excellence, performance and then better performance. He believes the day we get satisfied, it's the beginning of the end," said Goyal.

It took years for senior government officials and others to decipher what was in Modi's mind, he added.