Shipping sector gets $636 mn under Make in India

The Dollar Business Bureau

Under the ‘Make in India’ scheme, the government has received $636.17 million (around Rs 4,272 crore) worth of investments in the shipping sector.

“An amount of $636.17 million has been received up to May, 2016 in the Shipping Sector under Make in India initiative since its inception in September 2014,” Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, said in a written response to the Lok Sabha.

Under the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Trading Across Borders, the government has taken many initiatives in order to simplify the process of cargo clearance, to cut dwell time and congestion at key ports, the Minister added.

These initiatives include extending facility for direct port delivery to all ACP (accredited client programme) clients, integrating the import general manifest (IGM) system with terminal operating system, container scanner installation, implementing the e-Delivery orders and RFID-based (Radio Frequency Identification Device) gate automation system, Gadkari said.

He further said that the government is working to remove the bottlenecks for connecting the major ports with rail and road, introducing container tracking system on pilot basis at Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

The main ports of Cochin, Chennai, Kandla and two terminals of Jawaharlal Nehru Port, namely NSICT and GTICT, have already been implementing with the RFID-based system for gate automation.

In addition, implementing the RFID based system at other key ports such as Paradip, Kolkata, Kamarajar, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, and V. O. Chidambaranar, is in the process, the minister said.