Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2 said the government was keen on strengthening its maritime muscle for the overall development of the country.
Mr. Modi addressed the gathering after launching several completed projects and laying the foundation stone for new ones related to New Mangalore Port Authority and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited to the tune of ₹3,800 crore. A few hours earlier, the prime minister had flagged off the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, INS Vikranth, in Kochi and dedicated it to the nation.
Realising the importance of ports, Mr. Modi said, the government had been strengthening port-related infrastructure in a big way. Nearly 150 new projects were identified for port connectivity across the country while several were already completed. Because of several initiatives, capacity of Indian ports has almost doubled in the last eight years, which was equal to capacities created since Independence till 2014.
