The first ever Maritime India Summit 2016 held in Mumbai on April 14-16, 2016, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Focused at developing the country’s, it aimed at attracting potential investors to the vast opportunities offered in India’s maritime sector. Some 40 countries in addition to India with Republic of Korea as the partner country participated in the Summit. The project named ‘Sagar Mala’, the summit had 13 thematic sessions to include: Port Led Development; Ship Building, Ship Repair and Ship Breaking; Skill Development through Maritime Education & Training; Inland Water Transportation and Coastal Shipping; Hinterland Connectivity & Multi-Modal Logistics; Opportunities in International Shipping & Maritime Financing; Opportunities in Maritime States; Cruise Shipping & Lighthouse Tourism; Island Development & Aquatic Resources; Maritime Security and Counter Piracy.

Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Modi Government to modernise India’s ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute to India’s growth. Presently, ports contribute just 1 per cent of our GDP vis-à-vis roads 6 per cent and railways 9 per cent. The potential of our over 7,000-km coastline has never been optimised for India’s economic growth. Ideally India should do more than 90 per cent of import-export by sea. The three pillars of Sagar Mala are: one, modernisation of port’s infrastructure; two, proactive policy utilisation pertaining to ports and rendering institutional framework to the stakeholders, and; three, developing sustainable and efficient transport infrastructure so that all the ports are interconnected with the mainstream economy and best could be derived out of their availability. Under Sagar Mala, redevelopment of new and existing ports will be undertaken; upgrading them enough to handle extensive use of equipments and IT, and ushering improved monitoring and high-tech infrastructure for day to day business activity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
addressing at the Maritime India Summit

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (also called Nhave Sheva), the largest container port in India and also terminal of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor proposed by the Indian Railways, has been allotted Rs. 4,000-crore for development as an Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Sagar Mala is to adopt an integrated development approach for which 1,200 islands, both big and small, have been identified that would have some 189 lighthouses for vigilance and tracking. Overall, the government plans to spend some Rs. 70,000 crore on 12 ports in Sagar Mala.

Prime Minister Modi while inaugurating Maritime India Summit 2016 drew attention to the fact that this was the first time a global event of such magnitude was being organised by India. He said that oceans being 70 per cent of earth’s surface, maritime transport can be the most extensive and most eco-friendly mode of transport. Also, maritime security, freedom of navigation and safety and security of sea lanes is equally important. While highlighting economic and investment opportunities India’s coastlines offers, he also spoke of how joint efforts of maritime nations had resulted in elimination of sea piracy. He said that India has embarked on development of national waterways, and while India is the fastest growing major economy today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have indicated better future prospects.

India is taking aggressive steps to ensure that our process of growth is both fast as well as inclusive. Calling for global business community to partner India in the Sagar Mala project, Modi said that not only does the vast coastline offer huge investment opportunity, India’s maritime importance includes its strategic location on all major shipping highways, in addition to an expansive and productive hinterland, through which flow a network of rivers. India’s maritime agenda is to complement this ambitious infrastructure plan for the hinterland which is running simultaneously. Significantly, Prime Minister Modi also pointed out that with oceans contributing 90 per cent of living space on the planet, our lifestyle, transport systems and trading behaviour should not spoil the ecology of the oceans, and that challenges of climate change have shown that even offshore human behaviour can change the ecology of glaciers and oceans. It is ironic that while Prime Minister Modi drew attention to these important global issues, reports have emerged that China is engaged in levelling some 700 mountains to make space for cities despite geologists warning this could lead to ecological disaster. China is also building dams and diverting rivers in Tibet without any thought to consequences. There is no denying that the Maritime India Summit 2016 and Sagar Mala are game changers for India at the strategic level spanning both economic and military arenas. Their significance should also be viewed in the backdrop of Chinese plans to develop some 18 military bases in the Indian Ocean region under cover name ‘Strategic Support Bases’, which include deep water ports like in Gwadar, Hambantota and Colombo facilitating SSBN operations.

Significantly, a Chinese-led consortium has agreed to buy one per cent of Australia’s Kidman and Co (Australia’s largest farming estate – area larger than Ireland) costing $289 million. The Modi Government would do well to also focus on India’s largest natural aircraft carrier (the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands), whose ports and coastline too must be developed with the centre of gravity of future conflict veering towards the Indian Ocean.

The views expressed herein are the personal views of the author.