As a lot of container ship cargo was being diverted to nearby foreign ports due to depth restrictions at Indian ports, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, called for efficiency in the merchant and civilian shipbuilding industries and for operational efficiency and turnaround times, at Indian ports.
Delivering her address for the eighth convocation of the Indian Maritime University (IMU) in Chennai, the President said before the country could completely exploit the potential of the maritime sector, it would have to overcome several challenges. The operational efficiency of Indian ports needed to match global average benchmarks.
“India does not figure in the top 20 nations when it comes to the annual port calls. In the list of 50 best container ports worldwide, we only have two. The Indian ports must address infrastructural and operational challenges before they graduate to the next level. The majority of our fishing fleet is yet to be mechanised,” she said.
In this context, the Sagarmala programme was a significant move away from port development to port-led development, she pointed out. The five pillars of Sagarmala were port modernisation, port connectivity, port-led industrialisation, coastal community development, and coastal shipping or inland water transportation, she said.
“India and Indians are not just managing shipping companies, global ports and hubs and operating ships, but [are] also are steering and driving the global economy,” she said.
Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole, India was now preparing for the ‘Samudrayaan’ mission to explore 6,000-metre deep ocean waters and to study deep sea resources and biodiversity assessment, she said.
Climate change and rising temperatures
One of the “gravest challenges of our time” was climate catastrophe, which included rising temperatures and sea levels, she said, and pointed out that the maritime sector needed to be agile, proactive and swift in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change factors, which risked disrupting livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable communities.
During his speech, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said the degrees the students have received were due to their hard work, and further said they should be grateful to their teachers.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal, said India was the fastest-growing economy in the world.
Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism, Shripad Naik, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy, IMU Chancellor P. Shankar and IMU Vice Chancellor Malini V. Shankar also participated.
A total of 1,944 candidates from six IMU campuses across India and from affiliated institutes were qualified to receive their degrees: 1,062 from the School of Nautical Sciences received their degrees; 630 from the School of Marine Engineering and Technology; 52 from the School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering and 197 from the School of Maritime Management. A total of 245 candidates received their degrees in person.
