PM comes up
with excellent maritime strategy
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi,
during the Maritime India Summit in
Mumbai, said, “The maritime agenda
will complement the ambitious infrastructure plan for the hinterland which is
going on in parallel”. Having been
Chief Minister of Gujarat, a State that stands out in port development, Modi
has a keener sense of this untapped potential on the seaside. In fact, the
Indian Navy played a pivotal role in containing piracy on the high seas and is
positioning itself as the “net security provider” in the broader Indian Ocean
region with capacity building, joint exercises and increased multilateral
exchanges.
The sea
transport mode will continue to be the cheapest 'dollar/ton' mode of transport
in the future. Successive Governments in the past few decades have never looked
at its 7500 km coastlines with a strategic intent. Modi Government deserves to
be commended for their initiative in this summit and one hopes Modi is allowed
to combine his visionary foreign policy with this maritime strategy by chalking
out perfect plan of action.
It is
imperative to lay stress on harnessing our maritime potential. With its
locational advantage India has huge opportunities to develop its sea economy
which can add to overall economic growth in large dividends with 7500 km coast
line. Sea area need to be explored for natural gas and petroleum. Fish economy
with latest technology as has been adopted in Japan and East Eoropian countries
needs to be given a further fillip as it will also generate employment to large
number of employed population.
But by
promoting such grandiose projects the Modi government should not overlook the
basic needs of the vast majority of Indians of bread, Shed and job. Maritime
reforms should be accompanied by agrarian reforms too.
The first ever
global maritime summit organized by India is a very good initiative taken by
the government. Since India is covered by water from the three directions the
modernization of the ports creating economic zones, providing duty reforms and
repairing facilities to the ships are much required development points.
Congress
government neglected this excellent opportunity for 60 years in spite of having
Prime Ministers with economist tags and hereditary qualifications so far. Good
that a non-Harvard PM has realized this opportunity for which he may be accused
by secularists as Hindutwa ambition to dominate Non-Hindu neighborhood.
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