Focus: GS-2- Government Policies and Interventions
GS-3: Growth and Development, Infrastructure
Why in News?
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Jindal Steel & Power (JSP) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of indigenous marine grade steel to enhance the indigenous content in shipbuilding.
The initiative aims to foster indigenisation, enhance capabilities to produce and use these items in the Nation’s interest.
India’s Maritime Sector:
- With control over a marine territory spanning 8,118 kilometers, India exercises primary jurisdiction over its maritime expanse.
- The presence of 118 minor ports and 12 major ports facilitates the annual movement of 1400 million tonnes of cargo, crucial for the nation’s trade and economic advancement.
- Moreover, the diverse marine life in India’s coastal waters, comprising approximately 665 fish species, sustains the livelihoods of 40 lakh fishery workers involved in related activities.
- Seventeen crore people inhabit coastal regions, and there are an estimated twenty lakh cubic meters of oil and natural gas within our maritime borders.
- India ranks as the 16th largest maritime nation globally. Presently, maritime transportation in India manages 95% of trade volume and 68% by value.
- India stands among the top 5 countries worldwide for ship recycling, commanding a 30% share in the global ship recycling market.
- Additionally, it possesses over 30% of the global market share in the ship-breaking industry, housing the world’s largest ship-breaking facility at Alang, Gujarat.
- As of December 2021, India’s fleet boasted a Gross Tonnage (GT) of 13,011 thousand. However, India’s fleet capacity represents only 1.2% of the world’s fleet, and it handles merely 7.8% of India’s EXIM trade (as of 2018-19), according to the Economic Survey 2021-2022.
- In 2017, the government introduced the ambitious Sagar Mala Program with the aim of fostering port-led development and bolstering logistics-intensive industries.
- The Maritime India Vision 2030 has outlined more than 150 initiatives aimed at enhancing the Indian maritime sector.
