Bhubaneswar: The Commerce & Transport Department of the Odisha Government on Friday conducted a key workshop on PM GatiShakti, marking a significant step toward establishing a coordinated, data-backed infrastructure development ecosystem in the State. The programme introduced various departments to a unified geo-spatial digital platform that enables simultaneous planning and execution of multiple infrastructure initiatives. This digital shift aims to accelerate project formulation, promote departmental convergence and support scientific planning.
Addressing the participants, Principal Secretary of the Commerce & Transport Department, Smt. Usha Padhee, said that geo-spatial insights now form the backbone of Odisha’s long-range infrastructure vision. She stressed that modern development demands seamless collaboration among sectors such as transport, industry, ports, logistics, mining, and both urban and rural development. By evaluating project proposals, land requirements, logistics gaps and multimodal links on a single digital interface, departments can achieve faster approvals and reduce infrastructure costs.
The geo-spatial platform brings together crucial datasets—logistics corridors, road and rail networks, port connectivity, industrial hubs, utilities and land parcels—allowing officials to prepare robust DPRs, identify connectivity needs and optimise mobility of goods and people across the State. Odisha is shifting from isolated project planning to a comprehensive, future-oriented approach where every new project supports a larger logistics and mobility network aligned with economic expansion, industrialisation and public convenience.
The workshop was organised in partnership with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India, and BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics), MeitY. PM GatiShakti represents a landmark reform in integrated and multimodal infrastructure planning designed to bring down logistics costs and improve ease of movement.
Smt. Usha Padhee chaired the session on advancing the State Integrated Logistics Master Plan. Shri Kaustav Dipta Pany, Commissioner, Rail Coordination, presented key recommendations that emerged from the PM GatiShakti SMP Workshop and outlined the strategy for synchronised infrastructure planning via the GatiShakti Portal. Shri T. P. Singh, Director General of BISAG-N, assured comprehensive technical and institutional support to Odisha.
The State will continue to fortify its institutional mechanisms, enhance collaboration across departments and deepen the use of digital mapping to ensure that the Geo-Spatial Planning Framework becomes the cornerstone of master plans, multimodal logistics development and long-term investment strategies in Odisha.
