Shillong, March 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that National Highways in the country have nearly doubled compared to what it was before 2014.
“Similarly, only 600 route km of railway track was electrified per year before 2014 which is now reaching 4000 km per year” he said.
Modi was addressing a post budget webinar on the subject of ‘Infrastructure and Investment: Improving logistic efficiency with PM Gatishakti National Master Plan’.
He added that the number of airports and seaport capacity has doubled as well.
“Infrastructure development is the driving force of the country’s economy”, the PM remarked as he pointed out that India will achieve the target of becoming a developed nation by 2047 by following this very path.
“Now we have to improve our speed and move in top gear”, he said. Noting that PM Gati Shakti Master Plan is a critical tool that integrates economic and infrastructural planning with development, the PM said, “Gati Shakti National Master Plan is going to change the face of India’s infrastructure and its multimodal logistics.”
PM Modi said that this year’s budget will give new energy to infrastructure. “Infrastructure has a significant role to play in the sustainable development of any country along with development while keeping the needs of the future in mind”, the Prime Minister remarked.
Elaborating on the role of the states, the PM informed about the one-year extension of interest-free loans up to 50 years loans and budgetary expenditure for this has been increased to the tune of 30 per cent.