Gati Shakti – A long-term vision for a self-reliant, connected India

On the eight day of Navratri, i.e., Ashtami, Hon’ble Prime Minister announced the Gati Shakti initiative – a master plan to synchronize connectivity infrastructure projects across modes of transport - yet another step, to make India as the ‘business capital’ for the world. I was one of the industry representatives for the ACE (Appliances and Consumer Electronics) industry and Panasonic, invited to be a part of this session and to share views. This musing will be an insight on what the initiative is all about, and what it beholds for the industry.?

Revering the Goddess of Shakti (Durga), Gati Shakti, the digital platform has been announced at an opportune time. Not only it collaborates 16 ministries such as Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Civil Aviation, Railways, Finance and Commerce & industry but also, leverages the potential of existing ICT infrastructure to develop an efficient National Digital Public Platform. The COVID-19 crisis has made us realise the importance of logistics and dire need for a robust supply-chain. This multi-modal transport network can be the solution to better our supply-chain efficiencies, reduce the cost of logistics, while boosting the export competitiveness across sectors and industries.

India’s logistics sector today is slightly complex with adversities such as lack of unified technologies (especially for organisations), manual paper-based work to name a few. But, the optimist in me believes that these adversities are nothing but hidden opportunities. Infact they unearth the true potential for Gati-Shakti, by positioning India right in the Global supply chain and making it the manufacturing hub for the world.

As a part of FICCI’s electronics and white goods manufacturing committee, we have been closely collaborating with the government to identify the potential for enhancing manufacturing and backward integration for various priority sectors in electronics products like AC, LED, CCTV and TVs. Introduction of Gati Shakti will help address the disabilities for the ACE industry, across logistics. This in turn will have a multiplier impact towards enhancing our manufacturing competitiveness. Further, the digital platform, harnesses the best of technology (high resolution satellite images, infrastructure, utilities, administrative boundaries, land and logistics) to provide seamless, real-time information, ensuring timely approvals and flagging potential issues. In simpler words, the digital platform will enable an industry/organization to identify the optimal place of production, best route to take as per?

consumption levels and a real-time information for timely delivery. Not only, will it help in standardization of data but, help organizations save major costs by identifying potential challenges, address the supply-demand gap and thereby, enable ease of doing business.

Gati-Shakti is a strategic vision for the Indian economy. It brings in the necessary agility for the ongoing initiatives aimed at national economic integration that will help drive growth.