Inaugurating the Maritime India Summit 2021 through video conferencing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his government is committed to invest in transforming port and waterways infrastructure in a way which is not seen before. He said that the Ministry of Port Shipping and Waterways has created a list of 400 investable projects in the sector.

Talking about India’s long coastline and its potential to become tourism hubs, the Prime Minister said that the government has drawn up plans to develop landmark destinations around the lighthouses across the vast coastline. India has 189 lighthouses across the country’s coastline.

“We have drawn up a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses. The key objective of this initiative is to enhance development of the existing lighthouses and its surrounding areas into unique maritime tourism landmarks,” PM informed.

As far as utilising the domestic waterways for environment friendly transportation and tourism, the Prime Minister said that the government has embarked on a comprehensive plan to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030. “Ours is a Government that is investing in waterways in a way that was never seen before. We aim to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030.” He announced that steps are also being taken to introduce urban water transport systems in key states and cities such as Kochi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Goa.

The Prime Minister invited the world to come to India and be a part of India’s growth trajectory. India is very serious about growing in the maritime sector and emerging as a leading Blue Economy of the world. He noted that instead of a piecemeal approach focus is on the entire sector as one. The recent renaming of the Ministry of Shipping is a step in that direction, he said.