Sarbananda Sonowal to chair 19th Meeting of the Maritime State Development Council

Ahmedabad: Union Minister for Port, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal to chair the 19th meeting of the Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) scheduled on 18th and 19th August at Kevadia in Gujarat. During this, discussions will be focused on significant issues pertaining to the overall progress of the maritime sector. The meeting will be attended by the Chief Ministers, concerned Senior Ministers of the Coastal States and Administrators of UTs. The concerned Secretaries and Senior officials of all the 9 Coastal States and 4 UTs will also present their along with Senior Officials from various Ministries and Departments of the Union Government.

Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) was constituted in the year 1997 and is an apex advisory body for the development of the maritime sector aimed to ensure the development of Major and Non- Major ports in consultation with State governments. MSDC was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways with the Ministers in charge of all Maritime States ports, Administrators of UTs, Navy, Coast Guard, and representatives from all relevant stakeholders. 

MSDC is an apex advisory body for the development of the Maritime sector and aims to ensure the integrated development of Major and non-Major Ports. It was constituted to assess, in consultation with State Governments, the future development of existing and new Minor Ports by the respective Maritime States either directly or through captive users and private participation. Further, MSDC also monitors the development of minor ports, captive ports and private ports in the Maritime States with a view to ensure their integrated development with Major Ports and to assess the requirements of other infrastructure requirements like roads/rail/IWT and making suitable recommendations to the concerned Ministers.

The Council, in this meeting, will discuss the various development agendas related to the implementation of SagarmalaProgramme; Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), Lothal, Gujarat; Development of National Waterways; Challenges and opportunities for promotion of RoPax/ Ferries; Urban Passenger Waterways Transportation; Road & Rail port connectivity; Success stories of Coastal States & UTs and Issues/ Challenges faced by State Maritime Boards.

A coordination meeting on the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 (GMIS 2023) & Maritime Excellence Achievers will also be held with senior officials of all Coastal States & UTs to discuss their planning for participation in the Global Maritime India Summit, 2023which is scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 17th-19th October 2023.

GMIS 2023 is a premier maritime sector-focused event to bring together pivotal figures from the industry to explore opportunities, understand challenges, and stimulate investment within India's maritime sector. Building upon the legacy of its preceding editions of 2016 and 2021, this third edition of the summit aims to unveil broader prospects for domestic and international maritime stakeholders and investors. More than 100 countries and a number of delegates from them are expected to participate in the Summit with exhibitors and investors from various domains of the maritime sector.