Observing that only 10 per cent of the country's trade is carried out through ships carrying Indian flags, President Pranab Mukherjee today emphasised the need for stepping up ship-building capacity to make the country a major economic power.
Delivering a convocation address at the Indian Maritime University (IMU) here, the President said 95 per cent of the country's trade by volume and 70 per cent by value is handled through the sea.
"But only 10 per cent of our trade is carried out through Indian flag ships and our share of global seafarers is only six per cent", Mukherjee said.
"If India is to emerge as a major economic power in future, it would require substantial stepping up in the out-turn of quality maritime personnel and addition of our ship-building capacity," he said.
Noting that ship-building has the potential to generate enormous employment opportunities both in rural and urban areas, the President said the government was committed to strengthening the shipping industry.
"In the Maritime Agenda 2020 of the Government of India, a target of enhancing the share of Indian seafarers in international shipping from the current level of six per cent to nine per cent by the year 2015 has been envisaged," he noted.
The President also stated he was aware about teething problems of the IMU, which is the youngest among the central universities in India, established by an act of Parliament in 2008.
"There has been a high rate of turnover of faculty and administrative staff over the last five years. Many of the faculty positions are yet to be filled up," he said, adding he was, however, confident that the University has a bright future.
"It is my fond hope that the IMU should aspire to become a centre of excellence in the medium term," he said.
Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan said more branches of IMU would be opened in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha.
