India has nine coastal states, 7500 km long seashore, over 2 million square kiometers of economic zones, total 199 ports (only 12 major).
As we all know that India has a huge coastal area; India has a geographical advantage that no country has in terms of economy as the country is blessed with a 7500 kilometers long seashore as well as over 2 million square kilometers of economic zones. Moreover, there is a total of 199 ports constructed in nine coastal states of India. India also has a sum of 1382 islands including the Andaman-Nicobar group of islands.
I know what you're questioning. How India has a geographical advantage over the Indian Ocean, as the USA and Canada also have huge seashores. The answer is in that sentence only - the geographical advantage. More than half of oil supplies and other exports to eastern Asian countries such as China, Japan, ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) pass through the Indian ocean. Even exports to the Australian region. Furthermore, exports from East-Asian countries to Africa, Europe, and America pass through the Indian ocean. Not many countries can use the geographical advantage that India can and have.
Anyway, that is not the main point. The point is India should accelerate boosting its Blue Economy. But what is a blue economy? A blue economy is an economy that uses the ocean resources for economic growth, development of lives, and work opportunities without disturbing the ocean ecosystem. And the economy with sustainable growth, of course.
According to an article by Finshots, the blue economy contributes just around 4% to India's GDP. However, experts are not confident about the extent of the data accuracy. The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at around $2.9 trillion in FY19. By implementing the blue economy policy India can achieve the $5 trillion GDP target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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| ocean.panda.org - Sustainable Economy Infographic |
Finshots, in their article, provided suggestions to boost the blue economy. First of all, the government should conduct comprehensive research of all subsectors contributing to the blue economy with a view to figure out the extent of their contribution. From this, the researchers can know that what sort of damage they cause to marine life. There should be a comprehensive framework with high-quality data and intelligence so that experts and policymakers can understand the relevant things. By using the data, a local administration can provide assistance to stakeholders like businesses, local fishermen on unproductive zones, and access to productive zones.
However, India still has a big problem, and that is proper infrastructure for potential economic growth. Out of 199 ports, only 12 ports qualify to be called major ports, while all of them in total handles only 1400 million tons of cargo a year. This number is very small against the saying of nine coastal states and 1382 islands, that too in the Indian Ocean region. The ocean occupies minerals metal deposits that need investments for explorations.
The latest Blue Economy policy by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, available on the website of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, highlights the huge potential that the Indian Ocean has, making good suggestions.
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| marine.copernicus.eu - Ten aspects of a Blue Economy |