The Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India’ initiative offers a plethora of opportunities in the maritime sector, particularly in shipbuilding, with the Shipping Ministry projecting a quantum jump in the volume of cargo and passengers moved through water transport, says a report in the Hindu BusinesLine'
The government is aggressively promoting the adoption of ‘Make in India’ campaign including the shipping and port sectors.
The Ministry is aiming to raise cargo and passenger movement through waterways from the current five per cent to 30 per cent in the next 15 years. This means that there will be demand for more coastal ships, barges and passenger vessels, which would offer more opportunities to local shipyards.
India plans to build seven ports by 2017, using 7.6 billion in public and private funds.
A K Gupta, Chairman, of Shipping Corporation (SCI) of India said SCI is strongly advocating the Idea of ‘Make in India’, and the company is strongly pitching for granting of First Right of Refusal privilege to Indian flag-cum-Indian built vessels.
More towards the upholding of ‘Make in India’ objective, SCI is supporting Indian Classification Society Indian Register of Shipping(IRS) by availing its services and the PSU vows itself to support any Indian service provider in future akin to IRS, Mr Gupta said.
According to industry experts, the government initiatives like Jal Vikas Marg and Sagarmala projects will enhance transportation through inland waterways considering the recent approval for the development of 101 waterways across the country.
Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari also wants inclusion of maritime sector in the Make in India campaign to create more job opportunities. The Minister, who was in Kochi recently, called upon the public sector Cochin Shipyard to increase its capacity and to set up ship repair facilities in other ports.