Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 2: The prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the government’s decision to operationalize 23 waterways in the country by 2030 for transporting fright, develop land adjacent to 78 lighthouses on the coast for tourism and to introduce urban water transport systems in key states and cities such as Kochi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Goa.
The Prime Minister was inaugurating the ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’ through video conferencing. Minister of Transport of Denmark Benny Englebrecht, Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya were present on the occasion.
Modi invited the world to come to India and be a part of India’s growth trajectory. India, he said, was very serious about growing in the maritime sector and emerging as a leading Blue Economy of the world. Through the focus areas of upgradation of infrastructure, boosting reform journey, India aimed to strengthen the vision of Aatamnirbhar Bharat, he said.
In his welcome address, Mandaviya, the minister of state for shipping, said the Maritime India Summit was one of the biggest virtual summits in the world, with the participation of more than 1.7 lakh registered participants from more than 100 nations. “In this three-day summit, we will have ministers from 8 nations, more than 50 global CEOs and more than 160 speakers which includes 115 international speakers from 24 nations,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the capacity of major ports which was around 870 million tonnes per annum in 2014, had increased to around 1550 million tonnes annually now. “Our government is investing in waterways in a way that was never seen before. Domestic waterways are found to be cost effective and environment friendly way for transporting freight. We aim to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030,” Modi said.
“India has as many as 189 lighthouses across its vast coastline. We have drawn up a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses. The key objective of this initiative is to enhance development of the existing lighthouses and its surrounding areas into unique maritime tourism landmarks,” he added. He announced that steps are also being taken to introduce urban water transport systems in key states and cities such as Kochi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Goa.
“The Government of India is also focusing on the domestic ship building and ship repair market. To encourage domestic shipbuilding we approved the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards,” he added.
Inviting world to invest in Indian maritime sector, Modi said, “India’s long coastline awaits you. India’s hardworking people await you. Invest in our ports. Invest in our people. Let India be your preferred trade destination. Let Indian ports be your port of call for trade and commerce.”
During the event, Prime Minister Narendra launched the Sagar Manthan- Mercantile Maritime Domain Awareness Centre (MM-DAC), an information system for enhancing maritime safety, search and rescue capabilities, security and marine environment protection, and e-book of maritime vision 2030, which is aiming to make the Indian maritime industry at par with the top global benchmark in the next 10 years.
Speaking on the port development, the prime minister noted that that instead of a piecemeal approach focus now was on the entire sector as one. Besides increasing the capacity of the major ports, the Indian ports now have measures such as: Direct port Delivery, Direct Port Entry and an upgraded Port Community System (PCS) for easy data flow. “Our ports have reduced waiting time for inbound and outbound cargo.” He also informed that mega ports with world class infrastructure are being developed in Vadhavan, Paradip and Deendayal Port in Kandla.
The Prime Minister said the Government had recently widened the ambit of the maritime sector by renaming the Ministry of Shipping as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways so that work happens in a holistic manner. “The Government of India is also focusing on the domestic ship building and ship repair market. To encourage domestic shipbuilding approval has been given to the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards,” he said.
The Prime Minister informed that the Ministry of Port Shipping and Waterways has created a list of 400 investable projects with an investment potential of $ 31 billion or Rs 2.25 lakh crores.
Pointing out that under the “Sagarmala” project for promoting port led development announced in 2016, more than 574 projects at a cost of $82 billion or Rs 6 lakh crores have been identified for implementation during 2015 to 2035. Ship repair clusters will be developed along both coasts by 2022. Domestic ship recycling industry will also be promoted to create ‘Wealth from Waste’. India has enacted Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, and agreed to the Hong Kong International Convention.
The Prime Minister expressed the desire to share India’ best practices with the world and also the openness to learning from global best practices. Continuing with India’s focus on trade and economic linkages with the BIMSTEC and IOR nations, India plans to enhance investment in infrastructure and facilitate mutual agreements by 2026, he said.
The Prime Minister said that the Government has initiated holistic development of island infrastructure and ecosystem. He added that the Government was keen to promote the use of renewable energy in the maritime sector. He said the Government was in the process of installing solar and wind-based power systems at all the major ports across the country and aims to increase usage of renewable energy to more than 60% of total energy by 2030 in three phases across Indian ports.