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Economy & Business13 Oct 2026 · about 6 min

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan completes five years of transforming India’s infrastructure landscape

The brief

PM GatiShakti is India’s Whole-of-Government framework for planning infrastructure. Launched in October 2021, it brings geospatial data from ministries, departments and States and Union Territories onto one digital platform. The aim is to replace disconnected planning with coordinated decisions. Its central problem is fragmentation. Roads, railways, ports, airports, utilities and social facilities can affect one another, so separate plans may create delays, weak connections or expensive last-mile gaps. PM GatiShakti helps planners examine these relationships together and align implementation. The system now supports more than 1,800 data layers, 58 Central Ministries/Departments and all 36 States/Union Territories. Its Network Planning Group has evaluated over 400 projects worth about ₹20.23 lakh crore. The initiative has also expanded to district and social-sector planning, covering needs such as schools, healthcare facilities and water pipelines.

01

What is the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, and what problem is it designed to solve?

PM GatiShakti is India’s Whole-of-Government framework for planning infrastructure. Launched in October 2021, it brings geospatial data from ministries, departments and States and Union Territories onto one digital platform. The aim is to replace disconnected planning with coordinated decisions.

Its central problem is fragmentation. Roads, railways, ports, airports, utilities and social facilities can affect one another, so separate plans may create delays, weak connections or expensive last-mile gaps. PM GatiShakti helps planners examine these relationships together and align implementation.

The system now supports more than 1,800 data layers, 58 Central Ministries/Departments and all 36 States/Union Territories. Its Network Planning Group has evaluated over 400 projects worth about ₹20.23 lakh crore. The initiative has also expanded to district and social-sector planning, covering needs such as schools, healthcare facilities and water pipelines.

02

How large is the PM GatiShakti system today in terms of ministries, States and Union Territories, data layers, tools and projects evaluated?

PM GatiShakti has grown into a national geospatial planning ecosystem rather than a small project database. It brings together information from 58 Central Ministries/Departments and all 36 States and Union Territories. This gives planners a shared view of infrastructure and development needs.

The platform contains more than 1,800 integrated data layers. It also supports over 65 software modules and tools, plus more than 100 mobile and web applications. These systems help with data analysis, project planning, knowledge sharing, decentralised data management and infrastructure monitoring.

By 2026, the Network Planning Group had evaluated 421 infrastructure projects worth ₹20.23 lakh crore. The article also reports that more than 400 projects were evaluated overall. Together, these figures show a system operating at national scale, with digital capacity extending from central planning to States, districts and public-facing access.

03

How has PM GatiShakti developed since its launch in 2021—from a national infrastructure platform into a system that also supports district-level and social-sector planning?

PM GatiShakti began in 2021–22 as an integrated national platform for infrastructure planning. Its purpose was to combine data and coordinate ministries and States so projects could connect better and be delivered more efficiently. The early focus was building the shared digital and institutional foundation.

The expansion came in stages. In 2022–23, eight key infrastructure Ministries joined and 71 projects were evaluated. In 2023–24, social-sector integration added 1,463 data layers and all 36 States and Union Territories. In 2024–25, economic-sector integration and the District Master Plan were introduced, while 121 projects were evaluated.

In 2025–26, the public platform, Unified Geospatial Interface, Knowledge Management System, Decentralized Data Uploading and Management System and dashboard were launched. By 2026, the system covered about 1,800 layers and supported more than 65 tools and 100 applications. District planning now includes roads, schools, healthcare and water pipelines.

04

How do the Network Planning Group and the proposed Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority coordinate, evaluate and monitor infrastructure projects?

The Network Planning Group is PM GatiShakti’s project-evaluation mechanism. It examines proposals against shared principles instead of allowing each project to be judged in isolation. Its framework considers multimodal infrastructure, last-mile links to economic and social nodes, intermodal connections, logistics efficiency and synchronised implementation.

This approach turns the Whole-of-Government idea into an institutional process. By 2026, the group had evaluated 421 projects worth ₹20.23 lakh crore. The platform, dashboard, data systems and applications provide information for planning, knowledge sharing, decentralised management and infrastructure monitoring.

The Union Cabinet also approved the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority. The article describes it as a step to strengthen multimodal connectivity, but does not specify its detailed operating structure. Together, the group and the digital ecosystem can align project appraisal with ongoing monitoring, while the authority is expected to reinforce coordination across transport and logistics systems.

05

What practical consequences can integrated planning have for roads, schools, healthcare, water pipelines, last-mile connectivity and logistics costs?

Integrated planning gives decision-makers a shared picture of where infrastructure and services are needed. Instead of treating a road, school, hospital or water pipeline as a separate task, planners can consider how each supports local economic and social development. This can improve coordination and reduce disconnected investments.

For example, district-level planning under PM GatiShakti can bring roads, schools, healthcare facilities and water pipelines into one local development view. At the national level, project evaluation checks whether infrastructure reaches economic and social nodes, connects with other modes and includes the final link to users.

The likely practical result is better-connected services and more efficient movement of goods. The article specifically links the framework with improved logistics efficiency and synchronised implementation. It does not quantify savings or guarantee outcomes, but its tools, dashboards and project reviews are designed to identify gaps, coordinate delivery and strengthen last-mile connectivity.

06

Why is connecting different transport modes—such as roads, railways, ports and airports—more efficient than planning each mode separately?

Different transport modes perform different parts of a journey. A road may connect a local producer to a rail station, port or airport, while another mode carries goods or passengers farther. Planning each mode separately can leave missing links, poorly placed facilities or difficult transfers between systems.

PM GatiShakti addresses this through multimodal and intermodal planning. Its Network Planning Group evaluates whether projects connect with other infrastructure, reach economic and social nodes, provide last-mile access and are implemented in a synchronised way. The shared geospatial platform helps planners view these relationships together.

This can make movement more reliable and reduce avoidable logistics inefficiency because routes and transfers are considered as one network. It may also prevent one project from being completed before a necessary connection exists. The article establishes these intended benefits, including improved logistics efficiency, but does not provide a specific cost reduction or travel-time figure.

07

What is geospatial data, and why does knowing where infrastructure, people, resources and economic activity are located improve national development planning?

Geospatial data is information connected to a location, such as the position of a road, school, water pipeline, healthcare facility or economic node. In simple terms, it adds the question “where?” to planning data. That makes it possible to compare infrastructure, services, communities and activities on a shared map-based view.

PM GatiShakti uses this approach through an indigenous digital platform developed by BISAG-N. More than 1,800 data layers can be examined across ministries, States and Union Territories. Planners can therefore identify relationships between projects, check connections and consider last-mile access before implementation.

Knowing location improves coordination because infrastructure serves places, not just abstract targets. It can support district planning for roads, schools, healthcare and water pipelines, as well as national multimodal networks. The article presents geospatial data as a foundation for data-driven decisions, though it does not provide a specific example of one project changed by a particular layer.

This brief was written by AI from the original reporting and checked by other models. Names, figures and quotes come from the source; read it for full context.

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