Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently asked the NITI Aayog to map different projects, such as the industrial, defense and freight corridors; the National Industrial Manufacturing Zones; performance-linked incentive-based industrial parks; and PM-MITRA, medical, pharma and logistic parks, to understand the need for bringing them under PM Gati Shakti. PM Gati Shakti is a national master plan for multi-modal connectivity.
Sitharaman said this while chairing the 1st meeting of the Apex Monitoring Authority constituted to review the activities of the National Industrial Corridor Development programme. The Apex Monitoring Authority comprises the Finance Minister as chairperson. Chief Ministers from six States—Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarkhand—Ministers from seven States—Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan, attended the meeting.
Emphasising upon the need to ensure optimal utilisation of resources, the Finance Minister said PM’s Gati Shakti National Master Plan was expected to bring about greater coherence in all investments in infrastructure projects, according to an official report. She also asked the shipping Ministry to map out all the sea ports connected to various industrial corridors to see whether there are meaningful linkages.
Minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said there is a need to focus on attracting investors quickly in these industrial corridors. If the existing parks are not put to good use, then the Central Government would not support any new park, he added.
