A Morgan Stanley report said PM Gati Shakti scheme expanded India’s infrastructure and spurred growth
New Delhi:
Global investment bank and financial firm Morgan Stanley said PM Gati Shakti’s scheme has managed to give a new impetus to India’s infrastructure development and multimodal connectivity through highways, railways and ports that have spurred economic growth.
According to the report, India has greatly increased its infrastructure over the last decade, with higher investments that are also better targeted and potentially more productive.
“We expect India’s infrastructure investment to increase steadily from 5.3 percent of GDP in FY24 to 6.5 percent of GDP in FY29. In fact, this implies that investments in infrastructure records a strong CAGR of 15.3 percent, resulting in cumulative spending of USD 1.45 billion over the next five years, in our opinion, this will help increase the rate of investment, leading to a sustained period of high growth productive.”
Interestingly, the report also states that “contrary to popular perception, the scale of India’s physical infrastructure already compares favorably to that of China when viewed in the context of the GDP differential.”
The report cites the World Bank’s Logistics Index Report, 2023, which records that the average container dwell time at Indian ports was three days, compared to four days for countries like the UAE and South Africa , seven days for the USA and 10 days for Germany. .
The “turnaround time” of Indian ports has reached 0.9 days, which is better than that of the US (1.5 days), Australia (1.7 days), Singapore (1.0 days), etc. 6. In F24, overall port cargo growth was 7 percent, with 53 percent of cargo handled by major (government-owned) ports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched PM Gati Shakti’s national master plan for infrastructure development in October 2021. It brings together 16 ministries, including railways and highways, on a digital platform for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of multimodal connectivity projects . It is conceived as a transformative approach to economic growth and sustainable development, with roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transit, waterways and logistics infrastructure constituting “7 engines” to drive the economy in unison.
According to the Morgan Stanley Report, initiatives led by PM Gati Shakti are yielding results. Under the PM Gati Shakti scheme, so far, 101 projects worth Rs 60,900 crore have been cumulatively identified for implementation in the port and maritime sectors.
As of April 2023, 26 projects worth Rs 8,900 crore have been completed, 42 projects worth Rs 15,340 crore are under development and 33 projects worth Rs 36,640 crore are under implementation.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) is also implementing a comprehensive port connectivity plan in coordination with the ministries of highways and railways.
The Morgan Stanley report says that under the Sagarmala program, 220 projects worth Rs 1.12 lakh crore have been completed and 231 projects worth Rs 2.21 lakh crore are under implementation, while 351 projects worth Rs 2 .07 lakh crore is under evaluation.
Likewise, National Waterways are also being developed as a more efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport for both cargo and passengers.
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