In a major success for the PM Gati Shakti initiative, as many as 100 critical infrastructure projects have been recommended for approval in the ongoing fiscal.
These projects worth Rs 5.89 lakh crore have been recommended by the Network Planning Group (NPG) constituted under the initiative.
The PM Gati Shakti programme was launched by the government on 13 October 2021.
During the current fiscal year, there have been 54 meetings of the Network Planning Group at the Central level, during which they assessed a total of 100 significant infrastructure projects.
The majority of projects endorsed by the group pertain to roads, railways, and urban development. These include 40 road projects requiring a combined investment of Rs 3.65 lakh crore, 40 railway projects valued at Rs 95,704 crore, and 8 urban development projects totaling Rs 79,016 crore that have received approval.
All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects that involve investments exceeding Rs 500 crore are routed through the NPG.
The departments in -charge of these projects first approach the NPG for its approval before making a DPR (Detailed Project Report) at the planning stage.
After the NPG’s clearance, the project follows the normal procedure of receiving clearance from the Public Investment Board (PIB) or the Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry, followed by final approval form the Union Cabinet.