India’s PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the India’s first ever Maritime India Summit 2016 on Thursday and invited investors to come to India. Modi said the vision is to increase port capacity from 1400 million to 3000 million tonnes by 2025, keeping in view Rs 1 lakh crore investment for port development. He insisted that everyone should make sure that our lifestyle, transport systems and trading behaviour do not spoil the ecology of the oceans.
Modi also lauded the efforts of the Shipping Ministry, saying the performance of major ports in the last two years has been remarkable. “Maritime transport can be the most extensive mode of transport. It is also the most eco-friendly mode of transport. But we have to make sure that our lifestyle; transport systems and trading behaviour do not spoil the ecology of the oceans. The challenges of climate change have shown that even offshore human behaviour can change the ecology of glaciers and oceans”, Modi said. The ministers from Mauritius, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Sudan and Maldives have also participated in the Summit.