The National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC), chaired by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), met recently at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. For those who are not familiar, NSAC is the primary body that offers policy guidance and direction for port-led development through Sagarmala projects, as well as reviewing their implementation. This committee was set up by the Union Cabinet in May 2015.
During the meeting, the comprehensive development of coastal communities via a new initiative named ‘Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana’ was discussed, which Prime Minister launched during the release of “Maritime India Vision 2030” in March 2021.
Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana: A Detailed Look
The MoPSW designed the Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana to overcome challenges prevalent in the nation’s coastal areas. The plan includes a total of 1,049 projects, estimated cost being Rs. 3,62,229 crores. It focuses on four key areas: Coastal Infrastructure Development, Coastal Tourism, Coastal Industrial Development, and Coastal Community Development.
About the Sagarmala Project
The Sagarmala Programme was sanctioned by the Union Cabinet in 2015. It aims to foster comprehensive port infrastructure development all along the 7,516-km long coastline. This includes modernising, mechanising and computerising existing infrastructures. Through minimal infrastructure investment, the Sagarmala Programme envisions reducing logistics costs for EXIM (Export-Import) and domestic trade.
It holds potential to boost India’s merchandise exports by USD 110 billion by 2025 and create an estimated 10 million fresh jobs, out of which four million will be direct employment. The Ministry is also working on the ambitious project of Sagarmala Seaplane Services (SSPS) in collaboration with potential airline operators.
Components of the Sagarmala Programme
The Sagarmala Programme encompasses five key components:
1. Port Modernization & New Port Development: This component aims to de-bottleneck and expand existing port capacities while developing new Greenfield ports.
2. Port Connectivity Enhancement: This involves enhancing the connectivity between ports and hinterlands, optimizing cost and time of cargo movement through multi-modal logistics solutions, including domestic waterways (like inland water transport and coastal shipping).
3. Port-linked Industrialization: This segment is about building port-proximate industrial clusters and Coastal Economic Zones to reduce logistics costs and time of EXIM and domestic cargo.
4. Coastal Community Development: It focuses on promoting sustainable development of coastal communities through skill development and livelihood generation activities, fisheries development, coastal tourism, and so on.
5. Coastal Shipping & Inland Waterways Transport: This component seeks to provide impetus to cargo movement via sustainable and environment-friendly coastal and inland waterways mode