Shipping sector gets $636 million under Make in India initiative

Government received investments worth $636.17 million (about Rs 4,272 crore) in the shipping sector under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. [caption id=“attachment_2908020” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “An amount of $636.17 million has been received up to May, 2016 in Shipping Sector under ‘Make in India’ initiative since its inception in September 2014,” Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Government has taken significant initiatives under the ‘Ease of Doing Business-Trading Across Borders to simplify cargo clearance process, reduce congestion and dwell time at major ports, he added. They include integration of import general manifest (IGM) system with terminal operating system, extending of direct port delivery facility to all accredited client programme (ACP) clients, installing of container scanner, implementation of e-Delivery orders and Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) based gate automation system, the Minister said. The government is also working on removal of bottlenecks in rail-road connectivity to the major ports, introduction of container tracking system at Jawaharlal Nehru Port on pilot basis, Gadkari said. RFID based Gate Automation System has been implemented at major ports of Chennai, Cochin, Kandla and 2 terminals namely GTICT and NSICT of Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Other major ports namely Kolkata, Paradip, Kamarajar, V. O. Chidambaranar, New Mangalore, Mormugao and Mumbai are in the process of implementing the system, he said.