Of 421 projects evaluated, 256 are sanctioned and 198 are under ground execution.
NEW DELHI: On the fifth anniversary of PM GatiShakti on 13 October, the Commerce Ministry said the Network Planning Group has evaluated and recommended 421 projects worth about ₹20.23 lakh crore. Of these, 256 have formal sanction and 198 are under ground execution. Notably, the figures show a platform that has grown from concept to a large pipeline in five years, even as 165 projects still await sanction.
Gate 1: A spatial green light, not a cheque
The headline figure needs careful reading. An NPG recommendation certifies that a project’s alignment fits the national geospatial map, avoids duplicating assets, links with other transport modes and steers clear of forests, sanctuaries and coastal zones. It does not allocate money. Subsequently, any project above ₹500 crore must still pass financial appraisal by the Expenditure Finance Committee or the Public Investment Board, win Cabinet approval where the outlay demands it and secure a budget allocation before bids are invited.
The pace of evaluation is striking. The tally stood at 208 projects worth ₹15.39 lakh crore in October 2024. Between March and October 2026 alone, the group evaluated 59 more, lifting the pipeline from ₹16.50 lakh crore to ₹20.23 lakh crore.
Gate 2: Sanction and money
Encouragingly, most of the pipeline has moved on. The 256 sanctioned projects make up about 60.8% of the total, and estimates put their value near ₹12.10 lakh crore. That leaves 165 projects worth roughly ₹8.13 lakh crore awaiting sanction.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet approved the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority on 6 October. This apex body will handle technical appraisals for projects of ₹500 crore or more and prepare a National Transport Master Plan with a horizon of ten years or more. It will also run a data repository that combines e-way bill, FASTag and Vahan records to map freight flows.
Gate 3: The ground
Land is the toughest gate. Digital maps work with satellite precision, but state cadastral records are often outdated, and mismatches fuel acquisition disputes. Furthermore, environmental assessments, forest clearances and litigation follow their own timelines, whatever the map shows. Municipal bodies also lag in feeding real-time data into the platform, which slows urban transit and last-mile links.
Fiscal space matters too. NPG recommendations come independently of budgets, so sponsoring ministries must fit projects within annual gross budgetary support or find private partners. The plan also leans towards expressways, rail corridors and freight links, with less attention to Gram Panchayat roads and mandi connections.
What the maps have already changed
Spatial planning is altering designs before money is spent. On the 699-km Pune-Bengaluru Expressway, mapping showed heavy overlap with forest land, and realignment cut it by 19%. The ministry estimates this avoids litigation delays and saves 16 crore litres of fuel a year. At the Jogighopa Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Assam, integrated planning with the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge cut regional transit from 7 hours to 30 minutes, according to the ministry. In the Ladakh-Haryana corridor, mapping de-risked a 5 GW transmission link meant to evacuate 13 GW of renewable power before tenders were issued. These are official examples and not independent audits.
The payoff: cheaper movement of goods
The economic aim is lower logistics costs. A December 2023 study by NCAER put the baseline at 7.8% to 8.9% of GDP for FY2021-22, which replaced older estimates of 13% to 14%. The National Logistics Policy targets a cost below 8% of GDP and a place in the World Bank’s top 25 logistics ranking by 2030.
Meanwhile, supporting systems are scaling. The platform holds over 1,800 data layers from 58 central ministries and all 36 states and Union Territories, and private firms have had access to 230 non-sensitive datasets since September 2025. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform links 46 systems across 12 ministries through 142 APIs. Average vessel turnaround at major ports has also fallen from 93 hours to 49.
The exit gate: what to watch
Transparency is the first gap. DPIIT publishes totals, but no public list names all 421 projects with locations, sponsoring ministries and clearance status. State-wise outlays are undisclosed, and the private share varies by sector.
Therefore, the conversion ratio from evaluated to sanctioned to built is the key indicator. Budget allocations against sanctions matter as well, along with MoSPI data on delays and overruns for projects above ₹150 crore. Freight metrics such as port turnaround, container dwell times and rail freight speeds will show whether gains reach businesses.
Encouragingly, five years in, India has a shared map, a growing pipeline and an apex authority to appraise it. Ultimately, the remaining gates will decide how many of the 421 projects become roads, rails and ports.
About the Author
