The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the third edition of Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai via video conferencing today. He unveiled ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’, a blueprint for the Indian maritime blue economy, along with laying down the foundation stone for projects worth more than Rs 23,000 crore.
The Prime Minister recalled how the entire world was marred by the uncertainties of the Covid pandemic when the Summit took place in 2021, and emphasised that a new world order is taking shape today. In the changing world order, the world was looking at India with new aspirations. He stated that India’s economy is constantly strengthening in a world dealing with economic crisis, and the day is not far when India will become one of the top 3 economies in the world. Underscoring the role of sea routes in global trade, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for a reliable global supply chain in the post-Corona world.
He underlined the transformative impact of the historic G20 consensus on the proposed India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor. He said that as the Silk Route of the past changed the economy of many countries, this corridor too will transform the picture of global trade. Modi said that the Next Generation Mega Port, International Container Trans-shipment port, island development, inland waterways, and multi-modal hub will be undertaken under this leading to a reduction in business cost and environmental degradation will improve logistical efficiency and create jobs.
In the last decade, the capacity of major ports in India has doubled, and turnaround time for big vessels has come down to less than 24 hours as compared to 42 hours in 2014.
Furthermore, he underlined that Coastal Shipping Modes are also being modernised in India and informed that the coastal cargo traffic has doubled in the last decade, thereby providing a cost-effective logistic option for the people. Regarding the development of inland waterways in India, the Prime Minister informed that cargo handling of national waterways grew by four times. He also mentioned India’s improvement in the Logistics Performance Index in the last 9 years.
“India is going to become one of the top 5 ship-building nations in the coming decade. Our Mantra is ‘Make in India – Make for the world’”, the Prime Minister said.