The Union Ministry of Shipping is being renamed as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, in line with how it functions in most of the developed nations. With more clarity in name, there will be more clarity in the work, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on 8th November.
The Prime Minister was virtually inaugurating Ro-Pax terminal at Hazira and flagging off the Ro-Pax ferry service between Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat.
“Now the name of Ministry of Shipping is also being changed. Now this ministry will be known as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, it is being expanded. In most of the developed economies, the Shipping Ministry is also responsible for Ports and Waterways. In India, the Shipping Ministry has been doing a lot of work related to Ports and Waterways. Now with more clarity in the name, more clarity will also come in the work,” Modi said.
He further said that there is a great need to strengthen the logistics connected to the sea as cost of logistics can be reduced by water transport. “Therefore, our focus is to create an ecosystem where the seamless movement of cargo can be ensured. Today, we are moving forward to work on a good infrastructure as well as a single window system for better maritime logistics, preparations are underway, he said.
In his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister had said that there is a need to give a ‘new direction’ to the overall infrastructure development of the country and for this integration of key modes of transportation—road, rail, airplanes, waterways—is crucial, along with breaking the silos that come with it.
The government is currently working towards to connecting the entire country with multi-modal infrastructure, which uses different modes of transportation to facilitate transportation of goods, thereby cutting travel time and making the system more efficient. Multi-modal logistics parks are also being constructed with neighboring countries.
“I believe that with all these efforts we will be able to reduce our logistic cost very much. To keep the price of logistics under control, the efforts are being made, these efforts will also give new impetus to the economy,” he said.
