Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the 2nd Edition of Maritime India Summit-2021 (MIS-2021)-“Exploring the potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime sector and making Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. The Maritime summit is being held from March 2-4, 2021 in a virtual format. On the sidelines of the MIS-2021, Chabahar day was commemorated on March 4, 2021.
- The event is organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW).
- Partner Country – Denmark
- Objective – To promote both International and Domestic investment in India’s Ports & Maritime Sector.
- Other Organizers – Industry Partner – FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry); Knowledge Partner – ET.
- The summit was one of the biggest virtual maritime summits in the world.
- The summit will visualise a roadmap for India’s Maritime sector for next decade and will work to propel India to the forefront of the Global Maritime Sector.
Participants
- Ministers from 7 countries – Russia, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Denmark, Iran, Afghanistan & Armenia participated in the event.
- Around 1.7 Lakh participants from more than 100 countries participated in the event.
PM Launches e-plaque of ‘Sagar-Manthan’: MM-DAC System
PM Modi launched the e-plaque of ‘Sagar-Manthan’: Mercantile Maritime Domain Awareness Centre (MM-DAC). It is an information system to enhance maritime time safety, search and rescue capabilities, security and marine environment protection.
- It is capable of real-time vessel tracking and can organise help in case of emergency for seafarers & fishermen.
- It is set to be operated by the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping).
- Apart from Indian vessels, it can also track foreign vessels which are within 1,000 Km of India’s coastline.
- India is set to share the system with Sri Lanka & Maldives.
- MMDAC facility has elements of security for which DG Shipping has collaborated with the Indian Navy.
Major Announcements from PM’s Address
Around 574 Projects costing USD 82 Billion (~ INR 6 Lakh Crore) have been identified for implementation between 2015-2035 under the Sagarmala Project.
Development of Ports
The government is also planning several initiatives for the Development of Ports. They are
Raising the share of Clean Renewable Energy
- Increasing the share of Renewable Energy sources in the Maritime Sector by installing solar & wind-based power systems in all major ports of India.
- With this, the government seeks to increase the usage of renewable energy to more than 60% of all energy by 2030 in 3 phases across Indian Ports.
Operationalising 23 waterways by 2030
- India is set to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030 which will help in the development of ports.
Boosting Tourism around Lighthouses
- For this purpose, lands are being drawn adjacent to 78 out of 189 lighthouses on Indian Coastline.
Focus on Domestic Shipbuilding
- India is focusing on the domestic shipbuilding & ship repair market.
- The Government has approved a Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards for encouraging domestic shipbuilding.
Other initiatives
- MoPSW has created a list of 400 Investable Projects with a potential of USD 31 Billion of INR 2.25 Lakh Crore. The projects will help in the overall development of the maritime sector.
- PM stated that since 2014, the capacity of major ports has been increased from around 870 Million Tonnes in 2014 to 1550 Million Tonnes per annum.
- Indian ports are now equipped with measures like Direct Port Delivery, Direct Port Entry & an upgraded Port Community System (PCS) for easy data flow.
- World-Class Infrastructure is also being developed in the ports at Vadhavan (Maharashtra), Paradip (Odisha) & Deendayal Port in Kandla, Gujarat.
Release of the e-book ‘Maritime India Vision-2030’
During the event, PM Modi released a new e-book titled ‘Maritime India Vision-2030’.
- The e-book outlines the priorities of the Government for the development of the Maritime Sector.
- It aims to develop the Indian maritime industry at par with Global Industry in the next 10 years.
Chabahar Day Commemorated on March 4
On the sidelines of the MIS-2021, Chabahar day was commemorated on March 4, 2021. A meeting was held to commemorate the day.
- Ministries of 6 countries – Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan took part in the meeting.
Chabahar Port
- In May 2016, India, Iran & Afghanistan signed a Trilateral agreement for developing the Chabahar port in Iran as one of the regional hubs for sea transportation.
- It is a strategically important port as it is located on the Gulf of Oman and is only 72 km away from the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, which is being developed by China.
- It is the only oceanic port of Iran & consists of 2 separate ports (Shahid Beheshti & Shahid Kalantari).
Proposal to include in INSTC Corridor
During the discussions held in the meeting, India proposed the inclusion of Chabahar port in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) which connects Mumbai with Moscow.
- INSTC is a 7200 Km long multi-mode network of ship, rail & road for freight transport.
- It aims to reduce carriage costs by about 30% & Transit time from 40 days to about 20 days.
Chabahar Port set to be operational by May 2021
During the meeting, India stated that it expects to start full-scale operations at the Chabahar general cargo port (which has been built by India) by May 2021.
MoUs signed during MIS-2021
During the event, around 424 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed.
- The MoUs amounted to an Investment of more than INR 3 Lakh Crore by top maritime companies of the world.
- Major agencies such as Paradip Port Trust, DG Shipping, Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Ltd, Sagarmala Development Company Ltd, Shipping Corporation of India, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Trust & VO Chidambaranar Port Trust.
Cochin Port Trust signs 3 MoUs
During MIS-2021, Cochin Port Trust signed 3 MoUs with various agencies for the development of several projects in Kerala.
The projects are Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) at Vallarpadam; Cryogenic Warehouse at Puthuvypeen & Aviation Fuel Terminal at Willingdon Island.
Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ)
- An FTWZ has been proposed at Vallarpadam for INR 85 Crore for facilitating storage, handling & adding value-added services to dry & cold storage of cargos.
- It will help in the generation of employment for at least 50 persons.
- To be developed by India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (IGTPL).
Cryogenic Warehouse
- A Cryogenic warehouse has been proposed at Puthuvypeen for serving as a cold storage facility for items like marine products, meat, vegetables, fruits & pharmaceutical products.
- It will generate employment for at least 65 persons.
- An MoU has been signed with DP World (Dubai Ports World, UAE) for this purpose.
Aviation Fuel Terminal
- An Aviation Fuel Terminal has been proposed by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at Willingdon Island for INR 200 Crore.
- The terminal will supply indigenously produced aviation fields to airports in Kerala.
DG Shipping signs 61 MoUs worth INR 20, 000 Crore
As a prelude to the MIS-2021, DG Shipping organised a Roadshow & MOU signing ceremony on February 27, 2021.
- Around 61 MoUs worth INR 20, 674.13 Crore were signed during the event.
- The agreements are expected to generate employment opportunities for around 50, 000 seafarers in 5 years.
- MoUs were signed in various sub-sectors of Indian Maritime Industry such as Shipbuilding, Ship repair, Employment for Indian seafarers, Ship Acquisition for registration under the Indian flag and others.
NUSI signs 6 MoUs worth INR 225 Crore
National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) signed 6 MoUs worth INR 225 Crore with the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) ahead of MIS-2021. The MoUs were signed under the initiative of NUSI & NUSI Trust.
The agreements provide
- Financial assistance for COVID-19 vaccination to all ranks of seafarers
- Sponsorship to seafarers/family to study at the Indian Chapter of the World Maritime University (Sweden)
- Investments in Training, skill enhance courses at zero cost
- Financial medical assistance to seafarers & their families
- Education assistance to retired, deceased seafarers and their families.
VPT signs MoU worth INR 30, 000 Crore for Port Expansion
Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) signed MoUs worth INR 30, 000 Crore with port-led industries before the launch of MIS-2021.
- The agreements were signed for capacity expansion, beach nourishment, development of fishing harbour, LPG plant & other projects.
- VPT has signed MoUs with agencies like HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited), Dredging Corporation of India, JD Fisheries & the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the purpose.
About Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW):
Minister of State (I/C) – Mansukh L. Mandaviya (Rajya Sabha MP representing Gujarat)
