State PCS - Jharkhand (JPSC)

• 13 Jun 2025

Multitracking Projects Under PM Gati Shakti

Why in News? 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved two multitracking railway projects worth Rs 6,405 crore, covering seven districts across Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. 

Key Points 

• Details of Approved Projects: 
  • Koderma–Barkakana Doubling (133 km) – Jharkhand 
    • The project passes through Jharkhand's key coal belt and provides the shortest, most efficient rail link between Patna and Ranchi. 
  • Ballari–Chikjajur Doubling (185 km) – Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh 
    • The line covers Ballari and Chitradurga districts in Karnataka and Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. 
  • These projects are part of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which enables integrated, multi-modal connectivity through better planning. 
• Operational and Economic Benefits: 
  • The increased line capacity will boost train mobility, reduce congestion, and improve service reliability. 
  • These routes play a vital role in transporting key commodities like coal, iron ore, steel, cement, fertilizers, agricultural goods, and petroleum products. 
  • The capacity upgrade is expected to generate additional freight traffic of 49 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). 
• Environmental and Sustainability Gains: 
  • The railway upgrades will help reduce oil imports by 52 crore litres, cutting CO₂ emissions by 264 crore kg, equivalent to planting 11 crore trees. 
  • The shift to rail – a cleaner, energy-efficient mode of transport – supports India’s climate goals and helps lower the country’s logistics cost. 
• About Jharkhand Coal Belt: 
  • Jharkhand has large deposits of minerals. 
    • The region comprising seven districts – Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Ramgarh is also known as the state’s coal belt. 
  • 40% of the total minerals of the country are available in the state. 
  • The state is the sole producer of cooking coal, Uranium and Pyrite. 
  • It ranks first in the production of coal, mica, Kyanite and copper in India.

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan  

• The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, launched in October 2021 is a transformative Rs. 100 lakh crore initiative aimed at revolutionising India’s infrastructure over the next five years.   
• It has been developed as a Digital Master Planning tool by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).  
  • It has been prepared in a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform wherein data on specific action plans of all the Ministries/Departments have been incorporated within a comprehensive database.  
• The plan seeks to accelerate project completion, reduce timelines, and enhance India’s global competitiveness by breaking down inter-ministerial obstacles.  
• The vision of PM GatiShakti is to create a world-class infrastructure that improves the ease of living, boosts economic growth and makes Indian businesses more competitive.