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PM inaugurates Global Maritime India Summit 2023

Published By : Admin | October 17, 2023 | 10:44 IST
Unveils ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’ - a blueprint for the Indian Maritime blue economy
Lays foundation stone and dedicates to nation projects worth more than Rs 23,000 crores
Lays foundation stone of Tuna Tekra Deep Draft Terminal at Deendayal Port Authority, Gujarat
Dedicates more than 300 MoUs for global and national partnership in the Maritime sector
“In the changing world order, the world is looking towards India with new aspirations”
“Government’s vision of ‘Ports for Prosperity and Ports for Progress’ is bringing transformational changes at the ground level”
“Our Mantra is ‘Make in India - Make for the world’”
“We are moving towards a future where the Blue Economy will be the medium to create a Green Planet”
“India is moving towards becoming a global cruise hub through its state-of-the-art infrastructure”
“Combination of Development, Demography, Democracy and Demand is an opportunity for investors”

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the third edition of Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai via video conferencing today. The Prime Minister also unveiled ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’, a blueprint for the Indian maritime blue economy. In line with this futuristic plan, the Prime Minister inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone for projects worth more than Rs 23,000 crores that are aligned with the ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’ for the Indian maritime blue economy. The summit provides an excellent platform for attracting investment in the country's maritime sector.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister welcomed everyone to the 3rd edition of the Global Maritime India Summit 2023. He recalled how the entire world was marred by the uncertainties of the Covid pandemic when the Summit took place in 2021, and emphasized that a new world order is taking shape today. In the changing world order, the Prime Minister underlined that the world is looking towards 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 emphasized the need for a reliable global supply chain in the post-Corona world.

The Prime Minister said that history bears testimony that India's maritime capabilities have always benefited the world. The Prime Minister listed the systematic steps undertaken to strengthen the sector in the last few years. 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. He said that 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. The Prime Minister reiterated that investors have a great opportunity to become part of this campaign and join India.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated that the India of today is working to fulfill the resolve of becoming a developed nation in the next 25 years. He underlined that the government is bringing about revolutionary changes in every sector and mentioned the work done to strengthen the maritime sector of India. In the last decade, the Prime Minister informed that 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. He also mentioned the construction of new roads to increase port connectivity and touched upon the SagarMala Project to strengthen the coastal infrastructure. These efforts, the Prime Minister said, are increasing employment opportunities and Ease of Living manifold.

“Government’s vision of ‘Ports for Prosperity and Ports for Progress’ is bringing transformational changes at the ground level”, the Prime Minister said as he noted that the mantra of ‘Ports for Productivity’ is also being encouraged. Shri Modi informed that the government is taking major steps to enhance economic productivity by making the logistics sector more efficient and effective. He underlined that Coastal Shipping Modes are also being modernized 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.

The Prime Minister talked about the government’s focus on the ship-building and repair sector. He said that indigenous aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant is proof of India's capacity. “India is going to become one of the top five ship-building nations in the coming decade. Our Mantra is ‘Make in India - Make for the world’”, the Prime Minister said. He informed that the government is working to bring together all stakeholders in the sector through maritime clusters. Ship-building and repair centers will be developed in many places. He mentioned that India is already at second place in the field of ship recycling. He also informed about the effort to make the major ports in India carbon-neutral via a net-zero strategy for the sector. “We are moving towards a future where the Blue Economy will be the medium to create a Green Planet”.

The Prime Minister underlined that work is underway in India for the big players in the maritime sector to enter the country and mentioned GIFT City in Ahmedabad which has launched ship leasing as a financial service while offering discounts at the same time. Shri Modi expressed delight that 4 global ship leasing companies of the world have also registered with GIFT IFSC. He also called upon other ship leasing companies present at this summit to join GIFT IFSC.

“India has a vast coastline, strong riverine eco-system and rich cultural heritage which create new possibilities for Maritime Tourism '', the Prime Minister remarked. He mentioned the nearly 5 thousand-year-old Lothal Dockyard in India which is a world heritage and called it the ‘Cradle of Shipping’. He informed that a National Maritime Heritage Complex is also being built in Lothal near Mumbai to preserve this world heritage and urged the citizens to visit upon completion.

The Prime Minister mentioned the world’s longest river cruise service to promote maritime tourism in India. He informed about the upcoming International Cruise terminal in Mumbai and modern cruise terminals in Visakhapatnam and Chennai. “India is moving towards becoming a global cruise hub through its state-of-the-art infrastructure”, he added.

Concluding the address, the Prime Minister remarked that India is one of the few countries which has such a combination of Development, Demography, Democracy and Demand. “At a time when India is moving towards the goal of becoming a developed India by 2047, this is a golden opportunity for you”, Shri Modi said and sent out an open invite to investors from all over the world to come to India and join the path of development.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal was present on the occasion.

Background

During the programme, the Prime Minister unveiled 'Amrit Kaal Vision 2047', the long-term blueprint for the Indian maritime blue economy. The blueprint outlines strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing port facilities, promoting sustainable practices, and facilitating international collaboration. In line with this futuristic plan, the Prime Minister inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of projects worth more than Rs 23,000 crores that are aligned with the 'Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’ for the Indian maritime blue economy.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Tuna Tekra all-weather deep draft terminal, to be built at a cost of more than Rs 4,500 crores at Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat. This state-of-the-art greenfield terminal will be developed in PPP mode. The terminal, which is likely to emerge as an international trade hub, will handle next-gen vessels exceeding 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and will act as a gateway for Indian trade via the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). The Prime Minister also dedicated more than 300 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth more than 7 lakh crore for global and national partnerships in the maritime sector.

The summit is the biggest Maritime Event in the country and will witness the participation of Ministers from across the globe representing countries from Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia (including central Asia, Middle East and BIMSTEC region). The summit is also to be attended by Global CEOs, Business leaders, Investors, Officials, and other stakeholders worldwide. Further, several Indian states will also be represented at the summit by the Ministers and other dignitaries.

The three-day summit will discuss and deliberate key issues of the maritime sector including ports of the future; decarbonisation; coastal shipping and inland water transportation; shipbuilding; repair and recycling; finance, insurance & arbitration; maritime clusters; innovation & technology; maritime safety and security; and maritime tourism, among others. The summit provides an excellent platform for attracting investment in the country's maritime sector.

The first Maritime India summit was held in 2016 in Mumbai while the Second Maritime Summit was held virtually in 2021.

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 50th meeting of PRAGATI - the ICT-enabled multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation - earlier today, marking a significant milestone in a decade-long journey of cooperative, outcome-driven governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The milestone underscores how technology-enabled leadership, real-time monitoring and sustained Centre-State collaboration have translated national priorities into measurable outcomes on the ground.

Review undertaken in 50th PRAGATI

During the meeting, Prime Minister reviewed five critical infrastructure projects across sectors, including Road, Railways, Power, Water Resources, and Coal. These projects span 5 States, with a cumulative cost of more than ₹40,000 crore.

During a review of PM SHRI scheme, Prime Minister emphasized that the PM SHRI scheme must become a national benchmark for holistic and future ready school education and said that implementation should be outcome oriented rather than infrastructure centric. He asked all the Chief Secretaries to closely monitor the PM SHRI scheme. He further emphasized that efforts must be made for making PM SHRI schools benchmark for other schools of state government. He also suggested that Senior officers of the government should undertake field visits to evaluate the performance of PM SHRI schools.

On this special occasion, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi described the milestone as a symbol of the deep transformation India has witnessed in the culture of governance over the last decade. Prime Minister underlined that when decisions are timely, coordination is effective, and accountability is fixed, the speed of government functioning naturally increases and its impact becomes visible directly in citizens’ lives.

Genesis of PRAGATI

Recalling the origin of the approach, the Prime Minister said that as Chief Minister of Gujarat he had launched the technology-enabled SWAGAT platform (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) to understand and resolve public grievances with discipline, transparency, and time-bound action.

Building on that experience, after assuming office at the Centre, he expanded the same spirit nationally through PRAGATI bringing large projects, major programmes and grievance redressal onto one integrated platform for review, resolution, and follow-up.

Scale and Impact

Prime Minister noted that over the years the PRAGATI led ecosystem has helped accelerate projects worth more than 85 lakh crore rupees and supported the on-ground implementation of major welfare programmes at scale.

Since 2014, 377 projects have been reviewed under PRAGATI, and across these projects, 2,958 out of 3,162 identified issues - i.e. around 94 percent - have been resolved, significantly reducing delays, cost overruns and coordination failures.

Prime Minister said that as India moves at a faster pace, the relevance of PRAGATI has grown further. He noted that PRAGATI is essential to sustain reform momentum and ensure delivery.

Unlocking Long-Pending Projects

Prime Minister said that since 2014, the government has worked to institutionalise delivery and accountability creating a system where work is pursued with consistent follow-up and completed within timelines and budgets. He said projects that were started earlier but left incomplete or forgotten have been revived and completed in national interest.

Several projects that had remained stalled for decades were completed or decisively unlocked after being taken up under the PRAGATI platform. These include the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam, first conceived in 1997; the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, where work began in 1995; the Navi Mumbai International Airport, conceptualised in 1997; the modernisation and expansion of the Bhilai Steel Plant, approved in 2007; and the Gadarwara and LARA Super Thermal Power Projects, sanctioned in 2008 and 2009 respectively. These outcomes demonstrate the impact of sustained high-level monitoring and inter-governmental coordination.

From silos to Team India

Prime Minister pointed out that projects do not fail due to lack of intent alone—many fail due to lack of coordination and silo-based functioning. He said PRAGATI has helped address this by bringing all stakeholders onto one platform, aligned to one shared outcome.

He described PRAGATI as an effective model of cooperative federalism, where the Centre and States work as one team, and ministries and departments look beyond silos to solve problems. Prime Minister said that since its inception, around 500 Secretaries of Government of India and Chief Secretaries of States have participated in PRAGATI meetings. He thanked them for their participation, commitment, and ground-level understanding, which has helped PRAGATI evolve from a review forum into a genuine problem-solving platform.

Prime Minister said that the government has ensured adequate resources for national priorities, with sustained investments across sectors. He called upon every Ministry and State to strengthen the entire chain from planning to execution, minimise delays from tendering to ground delivery.

Reform, Perform, Transform

On the occasion, the Prime Minister shared clear expectations for the next phase, outlining his vision of Reform, Perform and Transform saying “Reform to simplify, Perform to deliver, Transform to impact.”

He said Reform must mean moving from process to solutions, simplifying procedures and making systems more friendly for Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business.

He said Perform must mean to focus equally on time, cost, and quality. He added that outcome-driven governance has strengthened through PRAGATI and must now go deeper.

He further said that Transform must be measured by what citizens actually feel about timely services, faster grievance resolution, and improved ease of living.

PRAGATI and the journey to Viksit Bharat @ 2047

Prime Minister said Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is both a national resolve and a time-bound target, and PRAGATI is a powerful accelerator to achieve it. He encouraged States to institutionalise similar PRAGATI-like mechanisms especially for the social sector at the level of Chief Secretary.

To take PRAGATI to the next level, Prime Minister emphasised the use of technology in each and every phase of the project life cycle.

Prime Minister concluded by stating that PRAGATI@50 is not merely a milestone it is a commitment. PRAGATI must be strengthened further in the years ahead to ensure faster execution, higher quality, and measurable outcomes for citizens.

Presentation by Cabinet Secretary

On the occasion of the 50th PRAGATI milestone, the Cabinet Secretary made a brief presentation highlighting PRAGATI’s key achievements and outlining how it has reshaped India’s monitoring and coordination ecosystem, strengthening inter-ministerial and Centre-State follow-through, and reinforcing a culture of time-bound closure, which resulted in faster implementation of projects, improved last-mile delivery of Schemes and Programmes and quality resolution of public grievances.