The Chhattisgarh government signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) and the National Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDSL) on 20 August 2026 in Raipur to expand the use of geospatial technology and integrated logistics data under the PM GatiShakti framework. The agreements were signed during the PM GatiShakti and LEADS 2025 Dissemination Workshop, jointly organised by the state Department of Commerce and Industries and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The partnerships aim to shift planning from fragmented departmental working to integrated, data driven decision making and to create better conditions for sustainable economic growth and investment in the state.
What is PM GatiShakti and Why Does It Matter?
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) for multi-modal connectivity is the central government’s approach to coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the initiative on 15 August 2021 from the Red Fort and formally launched it on 13 October 2021. The Union Cabinet cleared the plan on 21 October 2021. It aims to break departmental silos, reduce logistics costs, and improve last mile connectivity by bringing economic zones and connectivity infrastructure together on one digital platform.
At its core, PM GatiShakti is a ₹100 lakh crore vision for holistic infrastructure development. Logistics cost in India has historically been high, often estimated at 13 to 14 percent of GDP compared with single digit levels in advanced economies. High logistics costs raise the price of Indian goods, reduce export competitiveness, and slow investment. GatiShakti seeks to correct this by integrating planning across ministries.
The nodal ministry for PM GatiShakti is the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. DPIIT houses the Logistics Division, which acts as the secretariat for the overall programme. The digital Master Plan platform itself was developed by BISAG-N on a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. It uses satellite imagery from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and base maps from the Survey of India, is built on open source technologies, and is hosted securely on MeghRaj, the Government of India cloud.
Six Pillars and Seven Engines of PM GatiShakti
The plan is guided by six pillars, namely Comprehensiveness, Prioritisation, Optimisation, Synchronisation, Analytical capability, and Dynamic adaptability. In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government further described the plan as being driven by seven engines, which are Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics Infrastructure. These engines are supported by Energy Transmission, IT Communication, Bulk Water and Sewerage, and Social Infrastructure, and powered by Clean Energy and Sabka Prayas, the combined efforts of the Centre, states and the private sector.
Three Tier Institutional Framework
Implementation is managed through a three tier system:
| Institution | Headed By | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) | Cabinet Secretary | Apex body that reviews and monitors implementation, approves changes to the Master Plan, and ensures logistics efficiency |
| Network Planning Group (NPG) | Heads of Network Planning wings of infrastructure ministries | Integrated planning body that examines projects for multi-modal connectivity, avoids duplication, and recommends projects to EGoS |
| Technical Support Unit (TSU) | Logistics Division, DPIIT with domain experts | Provides technical expertise, data support and evaluation assistance to NPG |
The EGoS includes secretaries of major infrastructure and user ministries, while the NPG brings together planning heads of connectivity ministries such as Road Transport and Highways, Railways, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Civil Aviation, Power, Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Communications. The digital platform at the centre of this structure integrates more than 200 GIS layers covering terrain, land records, economic zones, industrial corridors, forest and mining areas, schools, health centres and other social and physical infrastructure.
What is Geospatial Technology?
Geospatial technology is the collection of tools that capture, store, analyse and visualise data linked to a specific location on the Earth’s surface. It broadly includes three components, Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS. Remote sensing gathers images and information from satellites or aircraft without physical contact, GNSS provides precise positioning, and GIS brings all such data together into layered digital maps that allow analysis of spatial patterns.
In governance, this means every asset, road, school, forest patch, mine, or water body can be placed on a common map with its exact coordinates and attributes. Decision makers can then see where gaps exist, how one project may affect another, and where new investment will have maximum impact. BISAG-N, the partner in Chhattisgarh’s MoU, specialises in exactly this work, creating large scale, village level geo-spatial databases that combine satellite data with government records.
What Exactly Happened in Chhattisgarh on 20 August 2026?
The two MoUs were signed in Raipur on 20 August 2026 during the PM GatiShakti and LEADS 2025 Dissemination Workshop. The workshop was jointly organised by the Chhattisgarh Department of Commerce and Industries and DPIIT. Officials from DPIIT and NLDSL attended, along with representatives from seven states including Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said PM GatiShakti has been strengthening data driven decision making in the state, helping the government plan infrastructure more effectively and identify gaps in connectivity and logistics to support industrial development. Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industry, Rajat Kumar noted that the state is moving from fragmented planning to integrated planning, and will now use geospatial intelligence to accelerate infrastructure, strengthen logistics and improve the investment climate.
Chhattisgarh’s Progress on the GatiShakti Platform
Chhattisgarh has emerged as a leading state in operationalising PM GatiShakti and was recognised as a high performer among landlocked states in DPIIT’s LEADS 2025 assessment. LEADS stands for Logistics Ease Across Different States, an index that ranks states and union territories on logistics performance. Other indicators of the state’s progress include:
| Indicator | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Departments onboarded on State Master Plan portal | More than 35 |
| Mandatory data layers mapped | 41 |
| Additional data layers mapped | More than 600 |
| Use cases developed | 45 |
| Analytical tools developed | 30 |
| States and UTs nationally onboarded on NMP | 36 with individual portals |
| Central ministries and departments on NMP nationally | 22 to 27 with dedicated portals |
The state has also developed its own Chhattisgarh GEO Portal through CHiPS, which stands for Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society. CHiPS is the state’s nodal agency for IT and e-governance. The portal offers a Department GIS Scorecard, predictive analysis of infrastructure gaps, a GIS enabled No Objection Certificate (NOC) system, and AI driven planning tools.
Practical use cases are already visible. The state uses GIS based identification of road black spots to target safety interventions and prevent accidents. Similar data driven methods help identify villages that lack adequate banking access and optimise bus routes under government schemes. About 600 mobile towers have been installed to improve connectivity at tourism locations, and 700 acres in Nava Raipur, the new capital city, have been earmarked under the Bhavya Scheme. The Forest Department’s Gaj Sanket app, which uses geospatial data to track elephant movement and reduce human elephant conflict, is another example of geography linked decision making.
The Two Partners: BISAG-N and NLDSL Explained
What is BISAG-N and What Will It Do for Chhattisgarh?
The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) is an autonomous scientific society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, working under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. Its headquarters is in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with additional presence in New Delhi. It was originally established as Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG) under the Gujarat government’s Department of Science and Technology, and was elevated to national status as BISAG-N by the Union Cabinet in 2020.
BISAG-N has three main domains, namely Satellite Communication, Geo-informatics, and Geo-spatial Technology. Its mandate is technology development, research, capacity building, international cooperation, and technology transfer in geo-spatial areas. Its work includes GIS database design, map creation and updating, photogrammetry, digital elevation modelling, remote sensing for agriculture, watershed and forest fire mapping, and development of low cost decision support systems on GIS platforms.
Critically for PM GatiShakti, BISAG-N developed the National Master Plan digital platform itself. Under the MoU with Chhattisgarh, BISAG-N will help the state strengthen its geospatial ecosystem, improve mapping capabilities, support integration of departmental data layers, and provide technical support for planning tools and applications on the State Master Plan portal.
What is NLDSL and What is Its Role in Logistics?
The National Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDSL), often referred to as NICDC Logistics Data Services Limited (NLDS), is the logistics data and digital arm of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC). It was established on 30 December 2015 as a joint venture between the Government of India, represented by the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), and the Japanese IT major NEC Corporation, with 50:50 equity participation. NLDSL completed 10 years of operations in December 2025 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
NLDSL’s objective is to leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to bring visibility, transparency and efficiency to India’s logistics sector and improve Ease of Doing Business. It operates two flagship digital platforms:
| Platform | Full Form | What It Does | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDB | Logistics Data Bank | Single window container logistics visualisation system that tracks EXIM (Export Import) containers through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and IoT based scanners across ports, terminals, rail and road. Provides real time tracking, dwell time and transit time analytics. | Covers 100 percent of India’s EXIM container volume, operational across all container handling port terminals. Has tracked more than 91 million containers since 2016, crossing 100 million containers by August 2026, with over 1.5 crore container searches per month. |
| ULIP | Unified Logistics Interface Platform | Digital gateway launched under the National Logistics Policy 2022 on 17 September 2022 that enables secure, API based data exchange between government systems and private stakeholders. Integrates multiple ministries through common APIs. | Integrates 44 systems across 11 ministries, offers 136 APIs covering more than 2,000 data fields, and has recorded more than 225 crore API transactions (crossing 450 crore by August 2026 in more recent updates). Over 1,600 companies and 200 applications have been built on it. |
LDB was launched in 2016, while its upgraded version LDB 2.0, which adds high seas tracking of export containers after they leave Indian ports and multi-modal visibility across ship, rail and road, was launched in September 2025 by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
Under the MoU with Chhattisgarh, NLDSL will help integrate ULIP based logistics data services with the state’s planning system. This will enhance cargo visibility, enable real time data insights, support better coordination among departments, and allow more informed decision making on where to locate logistics parks, freight corridors and industrial infrastructure. The MoU was linked to the Directorate of Industries, Government of Chhattisgarh, and was exchanged by NLDSL representatives during the Raipur workshop in the presence of DPIIT officials.
How Will the MoUs Help Chhattisgarh’s Economy and Logistics?
Chhattisgarh is a landlocked, mineral rich state in central India, with Raipur as its capital. Its economy is heavily dependent on steel, cement, coal and power, and it hosts key industrial clusters around the Raipur-Bhilai-Durg belt. Being landlocked, logistics efficiency is critical, since goods must move long distances by road and rail to reach ports on the east and west coasts.
The state government has said it plans to link its digital planning infrastructure more closely with industrial development, including integrated logistics and cargo aggregation hubs around the Raipur-Bhilai-Durg industrial belt. By combining BISAG-N’s geospatial mapping with NLDSL’s logistics data, planners can identify the best locations for new roads, rail links, warehousing clusters and multi-modal parks, avoid duplication of infrastructure, and ensure that industry gets reliable last mile connectivity.
This aligns with broader national efforts under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and the National Logistics Policy (NLP) 2022, which complement each other. While the Master Plan focuses on integrated infrastructure creation, the Logistics Policy focuses on efficiency of logistics services, process streamlining, skill development and technology adoption. Initiatives under the policy, such as ULIP, Logistics Data Bank, LEADS, and Sectoral Plans for Efficient Logistics (SPEL), are designed to work together with the GatiShakti platform.
Chhattisgarh’s approach also connects to its own policy environment. The state was among the early movers to notify a State Logistics Policy, and more recently has been promoting its Logistics and Warehousing Policy 2025, which offers incentives for modern warehousing, logistics parks and technology driven storage with systems like Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Internet of Things (IoT) based monitoring.
National Context: PM GatiShakti, National Logistics Policy and LEADS
The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan now has individual portals created for all 36 states and union territories and for more than 20 central ministries, with thousands of data layers uploaded. The institutional mechanism is operational at both Centre and state levels, with Empowered Groups of Secretaries and Network Planning Groups reviewing projects. Recent assessments note that 81 high impact projects, 76 NPG projects, and 197 critical infrastructure gaps have been identified and evaluated through this mechanism.
The National Logistics Policy, launched on 17 September 2022, set three objectives, to reduce logistics costs, to improve India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), and to create a data driven decision support system. By its third anniversary in September 2025, ULIP had enabled over 160 crore digital transactions and LDB had tracked over 75 million EXIM containers across 101 Inland Container Depots. India’s rank in the LPI improved to 38th position, supported by reforms measured through LEADS. LEADS 2024 introduced parameters like corridor access and terminal speed, while LEADS 2025 expanded to include digital logistics and sustainability metrics.
Chhattisgarh’s recognition as a high performer in LEADS 2025 among landlocked states therefore signals that its investment in data layers, tools and inter departmental coordination is being nationally benchmarked. The two new MoUs will deepen that integration by bringing national level technical agencies directly into state planning.
The Way Forward
For Chhattisgarh, the next steps will be operationalising the two MoUs into on ground tools and workflows. With BISAG-N, this means expanding high quality, village level geo-spatial databases, ensuring regular updating of data layers by departments, and embedding GIS based clearances and scorecards into routine decision making. With NLDSL, it means integrating ULIP APIs with state systems so that freight movement, dwell time and corridor performance data can inform where to build logistics parks and how to route industrial traffic.
At the national level, the Chhattisgarh model illustrates how cooperative federalism works under PM GatiShakti. The Centre provides the digital backbone, standards and technical agencies, while states provide departmental data, local planning priorities and implementation. As more states onboard and map hundreds of data layers, the National Master Plan moves closer to its goal of a truly integrated, multi-modal network where roads, railways, ports, airports, waterways and logistics infrastructure are planned together rather than in isolation.
Key Takeaways
- Chhattisgarh signed MoUs with BISAG-N and NLDSL on 20 August 2026 in Raipur during the PM GatiShakti and LEADS 2025 Dissemination Workshop to boost geospatial and logistics data use.
- PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was announced on 15 August 2021, launched on 13 October 2021, and cleared by Cabinet on 21 October 2021 as a ₹100 lakh crore multi-modal connectivity plan anchored by DPIIT.
- BISAG-N, an autonomous society under MeitY headquartered in Gandhinagar and elevated to national status in 2020, developed the GIS based National Master Plan platform hosted on MeghRaj with ISRO imagery.
- NLDSL, a 30 December 2015 joint venture of NICDIT and NEC Corporation (50:50), runs the Logistics Data Bank (LDB) covering 100 percent of EXIM container volume and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) integrating 44 systems across 11 ministries with 136 APIs.
- Chhattisgarh has onboarded more than 35 departments, mapped 41 mandatory and more than 600 additional data layers, and created 45 use cases and 30 tools, and was ranked a high performer among landlocked states in LEADS 2025.
