What is Sgarmala Programme?
The Sagarmala programme is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping to promote port-led development in the country through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes. The main vision of the Sagarmala Programme is to reduce logistics cost for EXIM and domestic trade with minimal infrastructure investment by
- Reducing the cost of transporting domestic cargo through optimizing modal mix
- Lowering logistics cost of bulk commodities by locating future industrial capacities near the coast
- Improving export competitiveness by developing port proximate discrete manufacturing clusters
- Optimizing time/cost of EXIM container movement
Components of Sagarmala Programme are:
- Port Modernization & New Port Development: De-bottlenecking and capacity expansion of existing ports and development of new greenfield ports
- Port Connectivity Enhancement: Enhancing the connectivity of the ports to the hinterland, optimizing cost and time of cargo movement through multi-modal logistics solutions including domestic waterways (inland water transport and coastal shipping)
- Port-linked Industrialization: Developing port-proximate industrial clusters and Coastal Economic Zones to reduce logistics cost and time of EXIM and domestic cargo
- Coastal Community DevelopmentPromoting sustainable development of coastal communities through skill development & livelihood generation activities, fisheries development, coastal tourism etc.
- Coastal Shipping & Inland Waterways TransportImpetus to move cargo through the sustainable and environment-friendly coastal and inland waterways mode.
What is the significance of SAGARMALA for the Coastal Community Development?
Approximately 18 per cent of India’s population lives in the 72 coastal districts that comprise 12 per cent of India’s mainland. Development of coastal communities through Marine sector related activities like fisheries, maritime tourism and corresponding skill development is an essential objective of the Sagarmala Programme. Development of cruise tourism and lighthouse tourism are other activities which are being actively considered under Sagarmala Programme.
