Bestowed with a long coastline of over 7500 km, India will finally soon have its own Blue Economy policy outlining the vision and strategy that the Government plans to adopt to utilise the plethora of oceanic resources available across the coastal States in the country.
The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has rolled out the draft of the proposed policy inviting suggestions on the plans aiming to achieve holistic growth of the coastal region through "manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development"..
"The policy document has been disseminated for pubic consultation. Stakeholders have been invited to submit inputs and ideas by February 27, 2021," an official statement said here on Wednesday.
The draft has been prepared in line with the Government’s Vision of New India by 2030. It highlighted blue economy as one of the ten core dimensions for national growth, said the statement.
Among the seven thematic areas, which the Ministry has recognised to emphasize in order to achieve holistic growth, is "Manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development".
To catalyze the development of the Blue Economy, the draft report says, it aims to set up research and development hubs in the nine coastal states and promote use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other new technologies in marine sectors such as deep-sea mining, marine logistics and shipping
India's blue economy is understood as a subset of the national economy comprising an entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country's legal jurisdiction.
The coastal economy sustains over 40 lakh sherfolk and coastal communities. With these vast maritime interests, the blue economy occupies a vital potential position in India's economic growth, said the statement.
With a coastline of nearly 7,500 kilometres, India has a unique maritime position. Nine of its 29 states are coastal and the nation's geography includes 1,382 islands. There are nearly 199 ports, including 12 major ones that handle approximately 1,400 million tonnes of cargo each year.
The coastal economy sustains over 40 lakh fisherfolk and coastal communities. With these vast maritime interests, the blue economy occupies a vital potential position in India's economic growth.
“The draft Policy aims to significantly enhance the contribution of the Blue Economy to India’s GDP in the next five years, improve lives of coastal communities, preserve our marine biodiversity and maintain the security of our marine areas and resources.
“Today, the Blue Economy holds the promise of being the next multiplier of economic growth and well-being, provided that the strategy places sustainability and socio-economic welfare at the centre stage. Therefore, the proposed roadmap for evolving a Blue Economy Policy would be a crucial step towards unlocking the potential of economic growth and welfare,” said the report.