Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has said that the Ministry has prepared a scheme to offer subsidy to the shipbuilding industry.
The same has been sent to the Cabinet for approval. He was addressing mediapersons at Dona Paula near Panaji on Monday, after chairing the 16th meeting of Maritime States Development Council (MSDC).
Job creationGadkari said that in view of the world’s requirement of manpower in the maritime industry, the Centre will open a sub-centre of the Maritime University at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, to cater to Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, for which JSW has already allotted 200 acres of land.
He said that by 2020, the maritime industry will provide jobs to over 6 crore skilled labourers all over the world. He added that the Government will provide a financial assistance of ₹50 crore to the centre, which will provide all types of training in the Maritime industry.
The Minister also said that the Government has prepared a new scheme worth ₹400 crore, to boost inland waterways.
Under the scheme, the Government will give 50 per cent subsidy to States to erect floating jetties, while the balance will have to be borne by the States.
He said that for passenger jetties, this subsidy will be ₹10 crore while for container/goods jetties, the subsidy will be restricted to ₹25 crore.
New ports announcedThe Minister informed that the Government has decided to open seven more major ports in addition to the 12 existing major ports, out of which one would be based in Bengal, namely Sagar Port, and the other in Dahanu, Maharashtra, to be opened up jointly for Maharashtra and Kerala.
He said work on these two projects has already begun. The meeting, hosted by Goa-based major port of Mormugao Port Trust on behalf of the Shipping Ministry, was attended by delegates from different parts of the country, including secretary and senior level officers from the Ministry of Shipping, and chairmen of all major ports.
Senior officers of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Tariff Authority for Major Ports, National Shipping Board, Indian Ports Association and other maritime-related Government organisations too participated in the meeting.