• The Network Planning Group (NPG), constituted under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, held its 20th meeting in New Delhi.

• It was chaired by the special secretary of the logistics division in the  Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and participated by officials from various ministries/departments. 

• Officials discussed various agendas on logistic capacities and PM Gati Shakti.

• All states and UTs have been integrated into the Gati Shakti Sanchar portal of the department of telecommunications (DoT). It will soon be convening a meeting with all NPG members to further accelerate the process of integrating the portal into the National Master Plan.

• As an approach towards multi-modal infrastructure, the ministry of railways will soon be creating 100 cargo terminals that have easier connectivity with roads and ports. 

• The NPG members were requested to maintain periodic engagement with the BISAG-N and regular project updates in the portal. Members were also advised to regularise planning and project mapping through the portal.

PM Gati Shakti

• PM Gati Shakti — national master plan for multi-modal connectivity aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy. Gati Shakti will bring ministries including railways and roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.

• It was announced in October 2021 with an aim to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects with a view to addressing the issues of multi-modal and last-mile connectivities.

The institutional framework for rolling out, implementation, monitoring and support mechanism have a three-tier system: 

i) Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOs)

ii) Network Planning Group (NPG)

iii) Technical Support Unit (TSU).

Network Planning Group (NPG)

• An integrated multi-modal Network Planning Group (NPG) with heads of Network Planning Division of all connectivity infrastructure ministries and departments is responsible for unified planning and integration of the proposals.

• It will assist the empowered group of secretaries (EGOS), which is headed by the cabinet secretary. EGOS consists of secretaries of ministries as members and Head of Logistics Division, under the DPIIT, as member convenor.

• NPG will guide all the departments and ministries responsible for creation of economic zones and connectivity infrastructure during the planning phase itself.

• The coordination between ministries/departments is pivotal and the role of NPG is crucial to achieve the integration of infrastructure projects.

• The parameters/prescribed norms of the overall National Master Plan will be the overarching objective of the NPG for examining and sanctioning future projects thus leading to minimising disruptions and strive for the creation of an ideal and efficient operating system for all infrastructure projects in the country. 

NPG’s role is to ensure:

i) Integration of networks.

ii) Enhance optimisation through modification/expansion/new network creation.

iii) Avoid duplication of works for holistic development of any region.

iv) Reduction logistics costs through micro-plan detailing.

BISAG-N

• Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) is an autonomous scientific society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the ministry of electronics & information technology (MeitY). 

• BISAG-N has three main domain areas: satellite communication, geo-informatics and geo-spatial technology.

• Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG), located in Gandhinagar, was a state agency of the department of science and technology, government of Gujarat. It was elevated as BISAG-N under MEItY this year. 

• Beyond the mapping of the geographical features, BISAG-N helps ministries/departments of the central as well as state governments to apply geo-spatial technologies in an innovative manner, to improve the effective roll out of e-governance services for the common citizens.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store