Under the $1.33 trillion Gati Shakti Masterplan, the government will launch a comprehensive geospatial digital platform to plan and monitor projects.
In an attempt to create an integrated framework for infrastructure development in the country, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching his government’s ambitious “Gati Shakti Masterplan” on October 13. The announcement to initiate the ₹ 100 lakh crore ($1.33 trillion) project was made by Mr. Modi on India’s 75th Independence Day on August 15. Under the project, the government will use geospatial data and technology to break silos and enable quick and informed decision-making.
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Comprehensive digital platform
As part of the project, the government will be launching a comprehensive geospatial digital platform to plan and monitor projects. Through this platform, the entire network of infrastructure projects ranging from telecom networks, gas pipelines to road and railways will be laid out for the next five years. The platform will be accessed by government departments and ministries and will provide high-resolution satellite imagery for better visualization of projects. “Esri India welcomes the launch of Gati Shakti platform which will provide geospatial data layers and satellite imagery to support government projects in the most critical areas of rural and urban infrastructure, utilities and logistics. Being set-up by a government organization, we expect Gati Shakti to provide authoritative content which can be consumed by numerous GIS users in government and private sectors,” said Agendra Kumar, President, Esri India.
According to government officials, the platform will have over 200 GIS (Geographic Information System) layers and will prove to be crucial for logistical planning. It will also be accessible to private players currently working with the central government on development projects. “The Gati Shakti Masterplan will help private players to work as partners with the government and develop holistic infrastructure. The geospatial digital platform for the national master plan for multi-modal connectivity with 200 layers of GIS mapping of the entire country will help reduce logistics and overhead cost, improve connectivity and shorten implementation timelines,” said Pramod Kaushik, President & MD, Hexagon India. The masterplan will bring together as many as 16 ministries on one platform to synergize project planning across ministries to ensure better decision-making and no duplication.
The government has also invited states to join the platform by providing data on their respective projects. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gati Shakti project is a very seminal initiative to build practical application on the recently announced liberalized geospatial policy. For India to become a $5 trillion economy, it would need to have critical components such as world-class infrastructure, much lower logistics costs, much faster implementation of geo-tagged digital platforms and processes across all industries and much higher collaboration and coordination between the government and private stakeholders. Gati Shakti will accelerate this goal to reality,” said Rajan Aiyer, Managing Director, Trimble India.
The platform has been developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) and will enable the government to simultaneously plan and execute multiple infrastructure projects. “Kudos to the government on its Gati Shakti initiative. The incorporation of geospatial technologies, especially the use of remote sensing in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and operation of the mega Gati Shakti project would pay rich dividends considering the projects scale, scope, spread and variety of logistic modes/channels to be integrated,” said Sai Arul, Head of SAARC Region at Maxar Technologies.
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Geospatial for development
This isn’t the first time when the Indian government is using geospatial technologies, especially GIS, to boost development. In August last year, the government had launched the national GIS-enabled Land Bank System, which was being developed by integration of Industrial Information System (IIS) with State GIS Systems. The project, initially launched for six states, is expected to cover other states and Union Territories in the near future. The objective behind the land banking system was to develop an effective and transparent mechanism of land identification and procurement, so that industrial activity can be enhanced, and foreign investors are encouraged to buy land in India.
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