Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)

It is a high speed and high-capacity railway corridor that is exclusively meant for the transportation of
freight, or in other words, goods and commodities.
The existing trunk routes of Howrah-Delhi on the Eastern Corridor and Mumbai-Delhi on the Western
Corridor are currently saturated with line capacity utilisation varying between 115 per cent and 150
per cent.
The DFCs are expected to ensure that long run traffic demand is met adequately and efficiently.
The diversion of freight traffic to DFCs on trunk routes will free up the existing network for the kind
of capacity expansion needed for passenger movement.

Significance:
Increased Capacity:
The DFC shall reform the transportation sector and will create more capacity on trunk routes of Indian
Railways as goods trains shall be able to run freely on DFC without any restrictions imposed by
movement of passenger trains.
Decongestion:
Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway network are slated to shift
to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open for more passenger trains.
Business Generation:
Tracks on DFC are designed to carry heavier loads than most of Indian Railways. DFC will get track
access charge from the parent Indian Railways, and also generate its own freight business.
Punctuality:
The new section means on the Indian Railway main line, more passenger trains can be pumped in and
those trains can, in turn, achieve better punctuality.
Benefits:
• Logistics costs will be reduced.
• Higher energy efficiency.
• Faster movement of goods.
• It is environmentally friendly.
• It will provide ease of doing business.
• Helps in generating more employment.

PM GATI SHAKTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 2021, announced the 'Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti
Nationa( Master Plan' worth Rs 100 trillion. Gati, the Hindi word for speed, aims to boost economic
growth (Shakti) through infrastructure building.
It is considered to be the government's integrated approach to developing modern railways, roadways,
waterways and airways.

ABOUT THE SCHEME

The Rs 100 trillion project is aimed at easier inter- connectivity between road, rail, air and waterways
to reduce travel time and enhance industrial productivity.
Besides cutting logistics costs, the scheme is also aimed at increasing cargo handling capacity and
reducing the turnaround time at ports to boost trade.
It also aims to have 11 industrial corridors and two new defense corridors - one in Tamil Nadu and
other in Uttar Pradesh. Extending 4G connectivity to all villages is another aim. Adding 17,000 kms
to the gas pipeline network is being planned.
This will help in removing long-standing issues such as disjointed planning, lack of standardization,
problems with clearances, and timely creation and utilization of infrastructure capacities.
PILLARS OF GATI SHAKTI
Comprehensiveness: It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and
Departments with one centralized portal. Each and every Department will now have visibility of each
other's activities providing critical data while planning & execution of projects in a comprehensive
manner.
Prioritization: Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through
cross-sectoral interactions.
Optimization: The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after
identification of critical gaps. For the transportation of the goods from one place to another, the plan
will help in selecting the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
Synchronization: Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos. There is lack of
coordination in planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays. PM Gati Shakti will
help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in
a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them.
Analytical: The plan will provide the entire data at one place with GIS based spatial planning and
analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
Dynamic: All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the
progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery will give on-
ground progress periodically and progress of the projects will be updated on a regular basis on the
portal.
Expected Outcomes
• The scheme will help mapping the existing and proposed connectivity projects.
• Also, there will be immense clarity on how different regions and industrial hubs in the
country are linked, particularly for last mile connectivity.
• A holistic and integrated transport connectivity strategy will greatly support Make in India
and integrate different modes of transport. It will help India become the business capital of
the world

CONCLUSION
PM Gati Shakti is a step in the right direction. However, it needs to address structural and
macroeconomic stability concerns emanating from high public expenditure.

INLAND WATERWAYS

Parliament passed a new law that will bring uniformity in the rules and regulations governing
inland waterways and navigation on them. It is aimed at developing India’s inland waterways
as a viable, thriving mode of transport, especially for cargo. The inland waterways network
spans close to 15,000 km across rivers, channels, backwaters, creeks etc.

In 2016, the government notified 111 inland waterways as National Waterways of India
under the National Waterways Act, 2016. Of these, 13 National Waterways are operational
for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them, according to
the government (see graphic).

The Inland Waterways Authority of India under the Ministry of Shipping is developing the
National Waterways for commercial navigation, including with assistance from the World
Bank.
The government wants to promote inland waterways especially as a supplement to freight
movement across India. This mode of transport has been recognised worldwide as
environmentally friendly and economical, especially for cargo that do not depend on speed of
delivery.

According to a government study conducted by RITES, one litre of fuel moves 24 tonne-km
on road; 95 tonne-km on rail and 215 tonne-km on inland waterways. To move a tonne of
cargo over a kilometre, it takes about Rs 1.36 on railways, Rs 2.50 on highways, and Rs 1.06
on inland waterways.

Underutilised right now, India’s inland waterways carry about 55 million tonnes of cargo
every year. The movement is currently restricted to Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly,
Brahmaputra, Barak, rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and
deltaic regions of Godavari-Krishna rivers.

SUBMITTED BY :- NAVEEN KUMAR (21-PGDLSM-14)