On 9th June 2023, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), launched “Sagar Samriddhi – Waste to Wealth”, an online dredging monitoring system as part of the ‘Waste to Wealth’ initiative of the MoPSW.
- The system is developed by National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC), the technological arm of MoPSW, and it replaces the previous Draft & Loading Monitor (DLM) system.
Key People:
Secretary of MoPSW Sudhansh Pant along with other senior officials of the MoPSW also attended this programme.
Note: The application of technology for monitoring aims to reduce human error and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Zero Defects and Zero Effect.
Sagar Samriddhi:
Capabilities:
- Real-time dredging progress report
- Daily and monthly progress Visualisation
- Dredger performance and downtime monitoring
- Easy location track data with snapshots of loading, unloading and idle time
Features:
i.This will also bring in synergy among multiple input reports like daily dredging reports, and the pre and post-dredging survey data before processing and producing real-time dredging reports.
ii.This will enable better productivity and contract management and will also enable the effective reuse of dredged material with the waste-to-wealth concept.
Implementation:
i.At present, the Cochin Port(Kochi, Kerala) and Mumbai Port(Mumbai, Maharashtra), have adopted the Sagar Samriddhi system.
ii.The New Mangalore Port(Mangaluru, Karnataka) and Deendayal Port(Kutch, Gujarat) it is running the system on a trial basis.
iii.The MoPSW has mandated all Major Ports and Inland Waterways Authority of India (lWAl) to monitor the dredging activity through this system with customisation from NTCPWC.
About Waste to Wealth Mission:
Waste to Wealth Mission is one of the 9 scientific missions of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PMSTIAC).
Aim:
- To identify, develop, and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract resources of value.
- To identify and support the development of modern technologies that promise to create a clean and green environment.
Key Points:
i.In 2021, the MoPSW issued the “Dredging Guidelines for Major Ports” to address the objective of carrying out dredging with the essential technical investigation.
ii.This enabled the Major Ports to formulate the dredging projects in order to complete in time.
- The Ports and IWAI annually spend around Rs.1000 crores for the annual maintenance dredging at Major Ports and Waterways (around 100 million cubic meters).
iii.With this new system, the dredging cost will be reduced and also bring in more transparency and efficiency to the overall system.
About NTCPWC:
NTCPWC was established under the Sagarmala Programme of MoPSW with an investment of Rs 77 cores at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras(IIT Madras), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Aim: to enable research & development for the marine sector.
Recent Related News:
On May 10, 2023, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy), launched ‘Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023’, the Green Port Guidelines, in New Delhi, Delhi.
About Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW):
Union Minister– Sarbananda Sonowal
Minister of State– Shripad Yesso Naik, Shantanu Thakur
