‘Oceans Are Bridges to a Better Future’: Hardeep Puri Outlines Vision for India’s Maritime Growth

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said that the oceans are not barriers, but the bridges to a better future, and the country is modernizing ports, and taking initiatives for building an inclusive and future ready maritime economy.

He said that the country is ready to work with global partners to make the maritime sector a strong driver of a developed and self-reliant India. Speaking at the 'India Maritime Week' programme today, Puri said that the maritime sector is poised to attract Rs 8 trillion worth of investment and is also going to create 1.5 crore new jobs by the year 2047.

According to Puri, the country is playing a key role in shaping global trade routes through initiatives like the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor, linking Indian ports with Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. The Minister said that the country's economy is growing fast, with the GDP now around 4.3 trillion dollars.

He said that nearly half of this comes from the external sector, which includes exports, imports, and remittances showing how important trade, and therefore shipping is for the country's economic progress. Puri said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the country's maritime sector has seen major changes over the past eleven years.

According to Puri, the port capacity has increased from 872 million metric tons per annum in 2014 to 1,681 million metric tons in the present day, while cargo volumes have gone up from 581 million tons to about 855 million tons. The minister said that efficiency has also improved with turnaround time reduced by 48 percent and idle time cut by 29 percent.

Throwing light on the Sagarmala Programme, he said it has already mobilized projects worth over Rs 5.5 lakh crore to modernize ports and connect coastal regions. Puri said that country's shipyards like the Cochin Shipyard, Mazagon Dock, GRSE Kolkata, HSL Visakhapatnam, and private yards in Goa and Gujarat are now building world-class vessels, and with partnerships like Cochin Shipyard with L&T and Daewoo for LNG and ethane carriers, and collaborations with Mitsui OSK Lines, are helping bring global technology into the country. He also mentioned that presently, 12 per cent of the world’s seafarers are from India, which reflects unmatched maritime human-capital strength.