Guwahati: With the Government of India’s focus to ensure rapid infrastructural development in North-East India and the region taking strides towards joining the National Gas Grid, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas organized the North-East Zonal Conference for PM GatiShakti (PMGS) in Guwahati today. The Conference was aimed at bringing together various stakeholders and hastening infrastructure development and adoption of environment-friendly Natural Gas in the region.

Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Labour & Employment, Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister for Industries & Commerce, Public Enterprises, Transports, Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship, Act East Policies, Welfare Minorities, Govt. of Assam Shri Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for FCS & CA, Industry & Commerce, Govt. of Tripura Shri Manoj Kanti Deb, Minister for Soil & Water Conservation, Govt. Of Nagaland Shri. V Kashiho Sangtam, Minister for Education, Law, Legislative & Parliamentary Affairs, Land Revenue & Disaster Management, Sports & Youth Affairs Dept., Govt. of Sikkim Shri Kunga Nima Lepcha took part in the meeting. Representatives from various infrastructure Ministries of the Central Government, North-eastern states and other stakeholders also attended the Conference.

Before the start of the Conference, the dignitaries attended a webinar on the vision of GatiShakti and its convergence with the Union Budget 2022, which was addressed by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister said that this year’s budget has set the pace (Gatishakti) of India’s development in 21st century. This direction of ‘Infrastructure-based development’ will lead to extraordinary increase in the strength of our economy, creating many new possibilities of employment, he said.

Underlining the lack of coordination among the stakeholders in the traditional ways of completing projects, the Prime Minister said that this was due to lack of clear information among the various concerned departments. “Due to PM Gatishakti, now everyone will be able to make their plan with complete information. This will also lead to optimum utilization of the country's resources”, he added.

The Prime Minister stressed the need of PM Gatishakti by emphasizing the scale at which the government is undertaking infrastructure development. “In the year 2013-14, the direct capital expenditure of the Government of India was about two and a half lakh crore rupees, which has increased to seven and a half lakh crore rupees in the year 2022-23”, the Prime Minister informed. “Infrastructure Planning, Implementation and Monitoring will get a new direction from PM GatiShakti. This will also bring down the time and cost overrun of the projects”, he added.

Shri Modi said “Strengthening the principle of cooperative federalism, our government has made a provision of one lakh crore rupees for the assistance of the states in this year's budget. State governments will be able to use this amount on multimodal infrastructure and other productive assets.” He mentioned National Ropeway Development Programme to improve connectivity in the inaccessible hilly areas and Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North-East (PM-DevINE) in this regard. Mentioning PLI initiative, the Prime Minister called upon the private sector to invest in the infrastructure of the country.

The Prime Minister commented that “even today, the Logistic Cost in India is considered to be 13 to 14 percent of GDP. This is more than other countries. PM Gati-Shakti has a huge role in improving infrastructure efficiency”. The Prime Minister talked about Unified Logistic Interface Platform- ULIP provided in this budget and which is being adapted by the various government departments as per their needs, leading to reduced logistics cost. “24 Digital Systems of 6 Ministries are being integrated through ULIP. This will create a National Single Window Logistics Portal which will help in reducing the logistics cost”, he added.

The Prime Minister informed about the steps like Logistics Division in every department and Empowered Group of Secretaries for logistics efficiency through better coordination. “Our Exports will also be greatly helped by PM Gati-Shakti, our MSMEs will be able to be Globally Competitive”, he added.

Later speaking in the North-East Zonal Conference, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri said that PM Gati Shakti is a remarkable initiative, as it aims to drive down logistics costs in India by streamlining and integrating infrastructure projects of various Central and State Govts. He said that through this breakthrough master plan, major projects across sectors like petroleum, railways, highways, utilities etc. will share a unified vision for accelerated and efficient execution.

Shri Puri said that we will be able to bring synergies between multi-modal transportation, logistics & supply chain, urban development, ports and utilities & services to bring about a transformation in both Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business. Indian goods and services will move on an express lane and Indian industry will be able to match the export capabilities of manufacturing hubs like China, Taiwan and South Korea, he added. “PM GatiShakti will ensure multimodal connectivity. For instance, fresh fruits grown in the North East India will swiftly cater to consuming  markets and Gulf.” Minister said

Shri Puri said that the petroleum sector will play a crucial role in the North East region's industrial growth. He said that oil production from NER is expected to increase by 67% from 4.11 MMT in 2020-21 to 6.85 MMT in the next 4 years. Shri Puri added that the area under exploration in the region is going to double in near future, with crude production expected to go up by 45% in 4 years, and gas production by about 90% in the same period.

Requesting all the State Government leaders to lend their support  to this transformative mission by the way of necessary project clearances and the cooperation of State agencies, Shri Puri said that in order to succeed, this dream needs to be fulfilled by teamwork between State and Central Governments in the spirit of Cooperative Federalism.

Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Prime Minister has brought about a paradigm shift in the development of the country, and PMGS will provide a lot of benefit to the people. He said that the North east is connected to the rest of the country through a chicken-neck, and hence this master plan for connectivity is unique in the nature. He said that not only this represents a grand vision of the Prime Minister, but also it has been backed by adequate budgetary resources. Stating that the Government of Assam is fully on board for the scheme, Dr Sarma informed that the state has already prepared an institutional framework for this and has also started capacity building. Assuring full cooperation in preparing the master plans, he said that the steps taken by the state will result in tangible results. The Assam Chief minister also thanked the Centre for providing funds for capital expenditure. Dr Sarma said that the State is fully cooperating with all the stakeholders to increase E&P activities in the oil and gas sector.

Shri Rameswar Teli said that connectivity through roads, rail, pipelines and waterways is an important requirement of development. He said that PM GatiShakti will bring together all the agencies involved in the supply chain. This will enable the country to grow stronger and reach the world standards. Shri Teli expressed happiness that the Conference on PM Gati Shakti is being organized in Gauwahti. He said that the North east region has always been at the forefront in the area of oil and gas. The exploration, transportation and marketing of oil and gas leads to employment generation as well as skill development. He said that PM GatiShakti will provide balanced development. He said that it is immensely important that states create more awareness about PM GatiShakti. They should  tap into Information Technology, which will have a greater role on the Scheme, he added.

Shri Manoj Kanti Deb said that the scheme will help in infrastructure development, all types of connectivity as well as doubling of farmers’ income. He said that Tripura is primarily an agriculture-based state, and the improved connectivity through PMGS may help in setting up of more industries there. He said that it will benefit every citizen of the country, and provide a new direction to the country.

Shri. V Kashiho Sangtam said that the PM Gatishakti will help in better exploration of mineral resources of Nagaland. It will lead to ease of doing business and open up new opportunities. Stating that the North eastern states will benefit a lot from it, he said that it will lead to timely completion of projects and incur economic benefits.

Shri Kunga Nima Lepcha said that multiplicity of agencies lead to poor planning and bad execution. Gati Shakti will bring about a positive change, and will help in development of the country, particularly hilly and small states. He said that Sikkim will make full efforts to benefit from the scheme.

PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity is essentially a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. Each Ministry and Government department will be able to access information about the ongoing and upcoming projects for a balanced and synchronized approach.

Hon’ble Prime Minister had launched the PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan (NMP) for multi-modal connectivity at a function in New Delhi on 13 October 2021. Subsequently, on 21 October 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, including the institutional framework for rolling out, implementation, monitoring and support mechanism for providing multi-modal connectivity.