NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday led a high-level meeting with cabinet ministers and secretaries from transport-related ministries to lay the groundwork for creating a central Transport Planning Authority. This new body will be responsible for comprehensive, integrated planning across India’s entire transportation ecosystem.
According to sources, the meeting reviewed top international models, including South Korea’s Korea Transport Institute (KOTI)—a think tank under the PMO that advises on national transport policy. Planning approaches from China and other countries were also examined.
“PM Modi has consistently emphasized breaking departmental silos and promoting integrated infrastructure planning to maximize outcomes. The discussion focused on the urgent need for an ecosystem that supports coordinated transport planning in India, given the current absence of a single apex agency. Presently, each ministry follows its own vision, with limited collaboration between ministries or states, and most plans rely heavily on external consultants,” a source said.
On September 23 that the government plans to establish a powerful apex agency tasked with preparing unified transport strategies covering all modes of travel and ensuring seamless end-to-end mobility.
Sources highlighted that without such an authority, India lacks clear 5- and 10-year transport plans, and the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan remains primarily a project appraisal tool. Multiple monitoring frameworks exist, but there is no dedicated agency to promote global best practices, innovative implementation techniques, or policy advocacy to amend related laws and regulations. “There’s also no mechanism for mid-course corrections if projects underperform,” an official explained.
Under the new framework, a National Institute for Transport Planning will be created alongside the Gati-Shakti Transport Planning and Research Organisation housed within the Cabinet Secretariat.
Initially, the government will form a Group of Transport Experts (GTE) comprising specialists in transport planning, supply chain management, data science, and network optimization from premier institutes such as IIT Delhi, IIT Chennai, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and BITS Pilani. This group will provide technical guidance to the sectoral group of secretaries and recommend strategic transport plans for the next 5, 10, and 15 years.
