PM launches app to prevent uncoordinated digging

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a special app called ‘Call before you dig’, a tool to help prevent damage to underlying assets like optical fiber cables that occurs because of uncoordinated digging and excavation, leading to losses of thousands of crores every year.
This application will enhance the goal of the prime minister’s vision of integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects under the PM Gati Shakti national master plan. The Gati Shakti National Master Plan is an approach that enables integrated and synchronized implementation of projects. The mobile app will connect excavators and asset owners through SMS/email notifications and click-to-call so that there are planned excavations in the country while ensuring the safety of underground assets.
According to the government, the launched app illustrates the adoption of a “whole-of-government approach’ in governance and ease of doing business. “It will save potential business loss and minimize discomfort to the citizens due to reduced disruption in essential services like roads, telecom, water, gas, and electricity,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday while announcing the app launch.
Further, Prime Minister Modi today inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) area office and innovation center in India, besides unveiling the ‘Bharat 6G Vision Document’ and launching the 6G R&D Test Bed.