Progress of the Sagarmala Programme : MoPSW

NEW DELHI : Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, replied to the Rajya Sabha that the Sagarmala Programme is a flagship programme of the MoPSW 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 projects under Sagarmala Programme are categorized into five pillars – port modernization, port connectivity, port-led industrialization, coastal community development and coastal shipping & inland water transport. These projects are implemented by Central Ministries, lWAl, Indian Railways, State Government and Major Ports etc. There are 839 projects worth investment of Rs. 5.79 Lakh crores for implementation under the Sagarmala Programme, out of which, 272 projects worth ~Rs. 1.41 lakh crores have been completed. Under Modernisation pillar, 103 completed project have resulted into port capacity addition for more than 528 million tonnes per annum.

Coastal Community Development is a dedicated pillar of the Sagarmala Programme. This pillar focuses on improving the living standards of the coastal communities by enhancing their livelihood opportunities, primarily through skill development, capacity building, and increasing access to sustainable economic activities. Under the Sagarmala Programme, a comprehensive skill gap study was conducted across 21 coastal districts in 9 states and 3 Union Territories, including Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and MoPSW have entered a MoU during May 2017 to enable skilling of coastal population under DDU-GKY Sagarmala Convergence Programme. Phase I of this convergence was implemented on pilot basis between 2016-2018 in 5 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. 2079 candidates have been trained out of whom 1243 have been placed.