Bulletin No.3 | Thursday, March 04, 2021

About this Bulletin

As a maiden flagship initiative of the Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways (I/C) Government of India, Maritime India Summit 2021 is being organised from March 2-4, 2021. The event comprises Summit and Exhibition and is being attended by various stakeholders in the maritime sector including senior and eminent policy planners, domestic and international investors, CEOs of Indian and global maritime companies, industry experts, thought leaders, technology providers, bankers and insurers, representatives of major ports and shipping lines from across the world.

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Development of Port Infrastructure: Unleashing Opportunities

The discussion was based on connectivity and development of Chabahar port as today is celebrated as the Chabahar Day. Ports today can enhance competitiveness if they act as a resilient link to integrated global logistics. Port management has gradually changed from being government and public oriented to local and private oriented. Both government and private participation goes hand-in-hand. In the field of port management, the private sector plays a vital role. Today, all Iranian ports are being operated by private operators. The Chabahar port is the perfect example of acceleration in development with public-private partnership. Furthermore for the development of Chabahar port, concessions and discounts are given by both the governments of India and Iran.   
 
The discussions highlighted that the port can serve as an intermediary between the coastal countries of Indian Ocean and connect the Indian market to Central Asia and Afghanistan. There is a proposition to create a mechanism with the help of India and Iran to promote bilateral relationship between both the countries through the Chabahar port. The Chabahar port has the potential to open opportunities for multi-modal connectivity and advance the export to neighbouring countries, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and others.
 
One of the major characteristics of multimodal infrastructure is that it eliminates functionality of narrow supply chains and reduces the number of intermediaries. To overcome the difficulty of payment in foreign currency, the banks have proposed two vital solutions; either the correspondent bank can maintain INR with the Indian banks, known as VOSTRO Account or the Indian banks can open an account with the correspondent bank in foreign currency called the NOSTRO Account. The UCO Bank has a representative office in Iran for facilitating trade through the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
 
The discussion brought out a major fact that Iran has recently opened a rail link from Khaf to Herat which will connect with the central railway network of Iran and further to Afghanistan. There is also an on-going talk on connecting Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat.  Mazar-i-Sharif already has connections with Uzbekistan and Central Asia. The discussion also brought out that in Iran, if the existing lines and the proposed railway lines are connected with the Chabahar port, it will be the best connectivity link for trade.
 
Speakers of the panel were: Mohammad Rastad, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organisation, Government of Iran; Farhad Montaser Kouhsari, Deputy Managing Director for Ports and Economic Affairs, Government of Iran; Behroz Aghei, Director General of Sistan Baluchistan Ports Authority; Khosro Saraee, Director-General of Transit, Logistics and Agreements of Ports and Maritime Organisation; S K Chaudhary, Chairman and Managing Director, Ircon International Limited; Atul Kumar Goel, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, UCO Bank.

Boosting Business through Trade Promotion and Regional Connectivity

The potential of international trade is determined by regional linkages and connectivity. This has become more significant after the pandemic due to a restriction in movement which has led to the realisation of promotion of the multimodal network along with the idea of close cooperation amongst nations to tap the economic benefits of such association.
 
In furtherance to the same, the panel delved into the discussion of cultural, emotional and political connectivity based on the construct of common civilisation and shared heritage. It went further to highlight the importance of Chabahar port and International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), easing the transit process through faster documentation, TIR accession, compliance mechanisms and proviso of route options for both member and non- member countries. This has allowed smooth movement of cargo on regular basis along with a push to increase participation thereby gaining trade confidence.
 
The way forward in the existing scenario would be through streamlined banking and insurance channels, IT platforms, integration of corridors, alignment of infrastructure, promotion of single window operator system and other associated aspects.
 
A close attention and implementation of the aforementioned ideas can unleash opportunities for the participating nations maximising the financial returns for them.
 
Speakers of the panel included: J P Singh, Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; Surendra Ahirwar, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India; Vikram Singh, Joint Secretary- Ports, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India; E. Ramesh Kumar, Chairman, Mormugao Port Trust; H K Joshi, Chairman & Managing Director, Shipping Corporation of India; Arvind Chaudhary, Economic Advisor- Ports, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India; Saeid Rasouli, Vice-Minister for Roads and Urban Development, Chairman of the Board and President of Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI); Davood Moradian, Director General,Afghanistan’s Institute of Strategic Studies; Zakia Wardak, Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; Mammadov Farhad, Deputy Director, State Maritime Agency under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Maritime Transport, Azerbaijan; G Ravi Kumar, Executive Director (Distribution & Logistics), Container Corporation of India Limited; Shankar Shinde, President Elect, Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India; Manoj Arora, President - Marketing, JM Baxi Group.

Valedictory Session

The Maritime India Summit organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways jointly with Ernst & Young (EY) as the knowledge partner and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) as the Industrial Partner spanning over 3 days provided a powerful platform for international collaboration and also brought in 24 partner countries for possible mutual exchange of opportunities and knowledge. While inaugurating the summit the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi mentioned that in India's sincere pursuit of becoming a leading blue economy of the world; its maritime sector will play a crucial role.
 
For that the panel focused on identifying challenges and developing a strategic roadmap to help the growth of maritime sector in the coming future.  It was pointed out by many of the panellists that the important parameters to fuel this proposed growth are finance, law & regulation, insurance and technology transmission. Along with these, the other important factors are capacity building and training of manpower, research and design etc.. Also, the importance of adopting a community development approach to achieve the targeted growth of this sector was emphasised upon.

This three day Summit discussed at length a number of interconnected issues contributing to the national vision of a port-led industrialisation. A responsive investment climate based on development of multimodal connectivity and skill development coupled with ease of doing business initiatives such as single window clearance system through integrated software as the need of the hour.
 
The outcome of the sessions emphasised on working towards a social infrastructure development goal and breaking silos amongst various stakeholders to create a conducive ecosystem in the maritime sector. The welcome new initiatives could be in the form of SEZ development, logistics Park development, developing technology compatible for LPG to Hydrogen shift. The Summit witnessed proactive commitments by the industry towards a sustainable green future of maritime sector. Emerging concepts such as Maritime Real Estate also found a mention in the Recap which was followed by the valedictory address encouraging the stakeholders to work towards the goals defined in the summit.
 
The speakers in the panel included Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers; Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Ministry; T K Ramachandran Chairman, VOCPT; Sunil Paliwal Chairman, KPL, H K Joshi CMD, SCI, Venkata Ramana Akkaraju Chairman, NMPT;M Beena Chairman, CoPT; Rajiv Jalota Chairman, MbPT; Amitabh Kumar DG, Shipping; K Rama Mohan Rao Chairman, VPT;  Raveendran Chairman, ChPT; Sanjay Sethi Chairman, JNPT; S K Mehta Chairman, DPT; Madhu S Nair CMD, CSL; E Ramesh Kumar Chairman, MPT; Vinit Kumar Chairman, PPT ;  Vikram Singh JS(Ports).
CONSUMER UNITY & TRUST SOCIETY 

Jaipur • New Delhi • Chittorgarh • Kolkata • Hanoi • Nairobi • Lusaka • Accra • Geneva • Washington DC

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