Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allocated the first-ever outlay of Rs 20,000 crore toward Gati Shakti in the Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
"PM Gati Shakti masterplan will encompass the seven engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency," she said.
Sitharaman said there will be big public investments for modern infrastructure readying for India at 100, guided by PM Gati Shakti.
She added that the Budget will also lay a parallel track of a futuristic and inclusive blueprint for Amrit Kaal.
"PM Gati Shakti is a transformative approach, driven by roads, railways, ports, airports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure. All seven engines will pull the economy forward in unison," Sitharaman added.
The project will expand the national highway network by "25,000 km in 2022-23", the finance minister further noted.
"Moving forward on this parallel track, we lay the following four priorities - PM Gati Shakti, inclusive development, productivity enhancement and investment, sunrise opportunities, energy transition and climate action & financing of investments," said Sitharaman.
She said 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains with better efficiency will be brought in during the next 3 years.
"100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals to be developed during next 3 years and implementation of innovative ways for building metro systems...," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the project, a digital platform, in October 2021. Its objective is to bring 16 ministries, including railways and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)
First Published: Feb 1, 2022 11:57 AM IST
