Approximately 18 percent of India’s population lives in the 72 coastal districts that comprise 12 percent 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.

Skill Development:

Under Sagarmala Programme, an integrated approach is being adopted for improvement in quality of life with focus on skill building and training, upgrading of technology in traditional professions, specific and time bound action plan for improving physical and social infrastructure in collaboration with the coastal states. Main features of Coastal Community Development plan consists of below

• Skill development
• Coastal tourism
• Development of fishing harbors
• R&D in Port and Maritime Sector

On the skill development front, the skill gap studies of 21 coastal districts has been undertaken and the same is being implemented. Ministry of Shipping is funding the skill development initiatives under DDU-GKY to train 10,000 persons annually for next 3 years and has currently started training in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In phase 1 of the programme , coastal district skilling programs (Phase I) in convergence with DDU-GKY, 1978 candidates have been trained and 1143 candidates have been placed.

To ensure technology based skill development, Ministry of Shipping have setup Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) with two campuses at Vizag and Mumbai that are operational since February 2019. The centres will provide for skilled manpower in Maritime and Ship building sector with its capacity of training is 10,500 trainees per annum.

Ministry is also funding the fire safety training project for workers at Alang-Sosiya Shipyard. Since Feb 2017, when the programme was launched, 23000 workers have been given refresher training so far. It is mandatory for a worker to undergo a 12 day skills training program before he can begin work in any shipyard. Effectively, anyone who works in Alang ship recycling yards undergoes the basic safety training. The Ministry further has ensured third party certification of this training programme to ensure quality of training. Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) is now conducting third party assessments. Additionally, in July, 2018 GMB also signed an MoU with Director General , Factory Advice Services and Labour Institutes, Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) for enhanced cooperation and expertise in improving health and safety of workers. The course curriculum has been revised and updated to conform to the common norms for skill development schemes under National Skill Qualification Framework notified by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. A Multi-Speciality hospital at Alang is also operational since March 2019.

Ministry of Shipping (MoS) in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is setting up Multi Skill Development Centres (MSDC) in Maritime Logistics under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) programme of MSDE at Major Ports. The first such MSDC has been setup at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on 8th March 2019 and has been planned at ChPT, CoPT,VPT and NMPT. The centre will provide skill development in Maritime Logistics and placement to over 1050 students per year in Port and Maritime sector. The key training areas are warehouse management, consignment and tracking, inventory management, EXIM trade documentation and other related courses in the maritime logistics domain. The physical infrastructure has been provided by JNPT and CIDCO and the centre will be managed and operated by the reputed logistics company All Cargo Logistics Ltd

The National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC), at IIT Madras is being set up to study engineering issues related to ports, waterways and coasts and in the country. NTCPWC will act as a technology arm of Ministry of Shipping for providing the needful technological support to Ports, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and all other related institutions. The cost of setting up the centre is Rs 70.53 cr. which is being shared by MoS, IWAI and the Major Ports. MoS’s grant is towards capital expenditure for creating facilities like Field Research Facility (FRF), Sedimentation and Erosion Management Test Basin (SEMaTeB) and Ship/Tow Simulator. Memorandum of Agreement has been signed on 26.02.2018 between Ministry of Shipping and IIT Madras and Sh. Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation laid foundation stone for setting up of NTCPWC at IIT Madras at Chennai.

Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) at IIT Kharagpur has also been proposed. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs. 76.20 Cr. The centre will serve as a technical arm of the Ministry of Shipping. It will be a state of the art facility and one of its kind in South Asia. It will cover the following 5 domain areas:

• Ship Design for Coastal/Inland waterways
• Shipbuilding Technology and Structural Design
• Transport Systems & Logistics
• Cryogenic Cargo Handling
• Green/Renewable Energy harvesting from Coastal and Inland waters

Fisheries:

Sagarmala Programme in coordination with related Central Ministries and State Governments would fund capacity building, infrastructure, and social development projects related to value addition in fisheries, aquaculture and cold chain development. As part of the coastal community development component of the Sagarmala Programme, Ministry is part-funding fishing harbour projects in convergence with Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DADF). Rs. 242 Cr have been released so far for 16 projects (cost: Rs. 1,452 Cr). In addition, in-principle approval has been given for development of deep sea fishing vessels and fish processing centers in convergence with DADF.

Coastal Tourism:

For promoting tourism in maritime states under Sagarmala, projects have been identified in convergence with Ministry of Tourism and tourism development departments of maritime state governments. Key coastal tourism projects include:

• Development of Coastal Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism
• Development of infrastructure for promoting Cruise tourism
• Development of lighthouses
• National Maritime Heritage Museum Complex at Lothal
• Underwater viewing gallery and restaurant at Beyt Dwarka

Sagarmala has conducted skill gap studies for 21 coastal districts in India. Skill Development programmes in these 21 districts is being undertaken in convergence with DDU GKY programme of the Ministry of Rural Development. The overall skill gap report and the reports of the individual districts in these states can be seen at the below linksClick Here