"India’s shipping sector has more potential than the road sector" -Governance Now

"India’s shipping sector has more potential than the road sector"

A total of 141 agreements were signed by various players in the maritime sector at the Maritime India Summit

Geetanjali Minhas | April 16, 2016 | Mumbai

#nitin gadkari #rajnath singh #maritime india summit #maritime

Nitin Gadkari, union minister for road transport & highways and shipping, at the Maritime India Summit, in Mumbai

The first-ever Maritime India Summit attracted investments worth Rs 82,905 crore. A total of 141 MoUs and business agreements were signed by various players in maritime sector at the three-day event. Talking about the Sagarmala Port Project, home minister Rajnath Singh said that the project will not only redefine inland transportation but also revolutionise it. “It is certain that India will become an economic superpower. Nitin Gadkai (union minister for road transport and highways and shipping) has imagination, vision and conviction. Under his leadership, contribution of shipping industry to the GDP of the country will increase by 2-3 times in the next five years,” Singh said.

Nitin Gadkari said that the shipping sector has far more potential than the road sector but unfortunately it has remained neglected so far. “To become a leading country in the world we will have to develop our ports and shipping sector. For the first time in the history of India 12 of our major ports have seen a profit of Rs 4,200 crore,” he said.

The minister also said that the value of contracts signed will reach Rs 2,00,000 crore before May 26, when the government completes two years at the centre.

Talking about the achievements of the shipping sector, Gadkari said that Indian defence ministry’s contract of Rs 50,000 crore for the Cochin Shipyard and another order of Rs 25,000 crore ensured a huge inflow of money to the troubled shipping sector.

Emphasising on the importance of housing in port area, Gadkari said that development of low cost residential areas near Sagarmala will be of equal importance to avoid proliferation of slums. “Forty coastal economic zones are being developed as part of port-led development. We have received Rs 8 lakh crore for port industrialisation in 27 clusters,” he said.

“Inland waterways is an important project for the Indian government which can be a game changer and bring in socio- economic transformation. The Sagarmala project will reduce logistic cost from 18% to 10% and further down to 8%,” Gadkari added.

Many agreements covering activities like modernisation of existing ports and establishment of new ones, development and extension of inland waterways, enhancement of cargo handling capacity, etc, were also signed by major ports, state maritime boards and PSUs like Shipping Corporation of India, Cochin Shipyard Limited, and Inland Waterways Authority of India.

Comments

Other News

CAG flags major fiscal lapses in Maharashtra

Maharashtra`s fiscal management has come under sharp scrutiny after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its State Finances Audit Report for 2024-25, flagged significant budgetary inefficiencies, accounting irregularities, understatement of key fiscal indicators and widespread governanc

The health sector research we are not doing

Some neglect is loud. This kind is quiet. It sits in research never commissioned, data never collected, questions never asked. In South Asia, that quiet has let the region’s worst health problems stay understudied, underfunded, and out of sight of those who could act.

Study flags accessibility and last-mile challenges on Mumbai Metro Aqua Line

Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), the city`s first fully underground metro corridor and one of its largest public transport investments, represents a major engineering achievement and has been widely welcomed by commuters. However, the overall commuter experience continues to be constrained by accessibili

Centre intensifies preparedness as El Niño threat looms

Amid uncertainty in the southwest monsoon due to the potential impact of El Niño, the government is addressing the situation with comprehensive preparedness, a clear strategy, and strong ground-level action. While challenges remain, the entire system has been activated in advance and is working proa

India is crossing a climate threshold

On June 28, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 41.3°C, four degrees above the seasonal normal. But the “feels like” temperature, which factors in humidity, showed more than 51°C. What the body experienced was very different from what the thermometer recorded. India`

The Geography of India’s inflation

India today finds itself in an unusual position. At a time when geopolitical conflicts, trade fragmentation, and supply-chain disruptions are reshaping the global economy, the country`s macroeconomic fundamentals remain relatively upwards. Growth remains among the highest in the world, inflation has larg