Editorial 1: In Full flow: How India can become a global maritime power by 2030
Recent Context:
- Recently India was ranked 38th in World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index (LPI) Report 2023. It has brought encouraging news for Indian ports as well as for the country’s logistics sector.
- India has moved up to 22nd rank in the global rankings on the “International Shipments” category from the 44th position in 2014.
The reasons behind improvement of international shipment ranking
- The reason behind the vastly improved performance is the substantial reduction in the dwell time (the amount of time vessels spend in port actively loading or unloading cargo) at Indian ports.
- This has reached an optimum level of about three days only as compared to four days in countries like the UAE and South Africa, seven days in the US and 10 days in Germany
- India has done well in another parameter that measures port operational efficiency
- Improvement in turnaround time (TRT) : The country’s TRT of only 0.9 days is amongst the best in the world. In Belgium, Germany, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland, Indonesia and New Zealand it is 1.4 days, in the US 1.5 days.
- Investments in the upgradation of infrastructure in the ports and shipping sector in the past few years:
- There has been a consistent focus on improvements in port efficiency and productivity through reforms, induction of new technologies, a greater thrust on public-private partnership and an overall commitment to the ease of doing business.
- The capacity at 12 major ports in the country has increased from 871 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2015 to 1,617 MMT in 2023.
- Role of PPP projects: PPP projects have contributed significantly to the increased operational efficiencies while adding nearly 300 MMT extra capacity during this period. They handle nearly 54 per cent of the total cargo in the major ports.
- The total capacity of Indian ports has gone up from about 1,560 MMT in 2015 to more than 2,600 MMT. There has also been a nearly 150 per cent increase in the value of operationalisation of PPP projects in the major ports
Focus on decarbonisation in the shipping sector:
- There has been a 14-fold increase in the use of renewable energy in major ports over the last eight years. Four of the major ports now generate more renewable energy than their total energy needs.
- Therefore, The focus on decarbonisation in the maritime sector along with the Panchamrit commitments of the government has reflected in the port sector:
- The Harit Sagar Green Port guidelines issued by the government is another important step further in this direction. It aims to bring about a paradigm shift towards safe, efficient and sustainable ports while implementing sound environmental practices among all stakeholders.
The initiatives of government for further improvement of shipping sector:
- The Centre has also undertaken several key policy and legislative reforms to boost the port sector. This includes
- Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 which grants greater autonomy to major ports.
- The Marine Aids to Navigation Act, 2021 that provides for increased safety and efficiency in vessel traffic services and training and certification at par with international standards.
- The Indian Vessels Act, 2021 which brings uniformity in law and standardised provisions across all inland waterways in the country.
- The government is also in the process of replacing the Indian Ports Act, 1908 with a piece of legislation that is in tune with present-day requirements.
Conclusion:
- Over the past few years, the government is endeavored to develop ports as hubs of economic activity.
- The global recognition of the operational efficiencies of Indian ports and the Indian maritime sector is an important step in India’s endeavour to become a global maritime power as envisaged in the Maritime India Vision, 2030.
Editorial 2: What is the massive grain storage plan the govt has unveiled, how it’ll help farmers
Recent Context:
- The Union Cabinet recently approved the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to facilitate the “world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector.
Why does India need a grain storage plan?
- India, the most populous country in the world accounts for 18 per cent of the global population
- However, it accounts for only 11 per cent of the arable land (1,380 million hectare) in the world.
- Also, India runs the world’s largest food programme under the National Food Security Act, 2013, that covers about 81 crore people.
- Therefore, to ensure food security of a billion plus population, a robust network of foodgrain storage facilities becomes essential.
The gap in the foodgrain storage capacity:
- At present, India has a foodgrain storage capacity of 145 MMT against the total food production of 311 MMT leaving a gap of 166 MMT.
- In the absence of sufficient storage facilities, foodgrains are sometimes stored in the open, which results in damage.
- According to the Ministry of Cooperation, several countries have better storage capacities. For instance, against the total foodgrain production of 615 MMT, China has a storage capacity of 660 MMT. USA, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Ukraine, France, and Canada are among other countries with the capacity to store more food grains than they produce.
- India has a storage capacity of 47 per cent of its total foodgrains production. At the regional level, only a few southern states have the storage capacity of 90 per cent and above. In northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is below 50 per cent.
What is the ‘world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector?
- At present, multiple government agencies, like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehouse Corporation, Warehouse Development Regulatory Authority, Railways, and the civil supply departments of states are involved in grain management. However, that has not yielded the desired results.
- Under the new plan, the Ministry of Cooperation aims to set up a network of integrated grain storage facilities through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country.
- According to the ministry, there are more than 1,00,000 PACS spread across the country with a huge member base of more than 13 crore farmers. This is one of the reasons why the PACS network was chosen for the new plan.
Who is in the IMC?
- The Union Cabinet has approved an IMC for the scheme, to be constituted under the Chairmanship of Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah.
- The IMC will “modify guidelines/ implementation methodologies of the schemes of the respective Ministries as and when need arises, within the approved outlays and prescribed goals” for facilitation of the scheme, “by creation of infrastructure such as godowns, etc. for Agriculture and Allied purposes, at selected ‘viable’ Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).”
What is the budgetary allocation?
- Though the plan does not have a separate allocation, it will be implemented by the convergence of 8 schemes.
- These schemes are
- Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
- Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI)
- Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
- and Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- It includes two schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries: Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
- Besides, the plan also includes two schemes of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: allocation of food grains under the National Food Security Act, and Procurement operations at Minimum Support Price.
What are the benefits of the plan?
- According to the government, “The plan is multi-pronged — it aims to address not just the shortage of agricultural storage infrastructure in the country by facilitating establishment of godowns at the level of PACS, but would also enable PACS to undertake various other activities,
- Functioning as Procurement centres for State Agencies/ Food Corporation of India (FCI)
- Serving as Fair Price Shops (FPS)
- Setting up custom hiring centers
- Setting up common processing units, including assaying
- sorting, grading units for agricultural produce, etc.”
- The new initiative would result in multiple benefits.
- First, it would reduce post-harvesting losses.
- Second, it would bring down the foodgrain handling and transportation cost.
- Third, farmers would have a choice to sell their produce depending on the market conditions, and not be forced into distress sale.
What will the integrated facility look like?
- Spread over 1 acre of land, the facility will be built at a cost Rs 2.25 crore. The integrated modular PACS will have a custom hiring centre, a multi-purpose hall procurement centers, primary processing units for cleaning and winnowing , a storage shed, and container storage and silos.
- According to the Cooperation ministry, the new storage plan is based on the hub and spoke model. Of the 63,000 PACS across the country, 55,767 will function as spoke and will have a grain storage capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes each
- while the remaining 7,233 PACS, which will function as hubs, will have a storage capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes each.
- Along with it, the PACS will purchase agricultural equipment like tillers, rotary tillers, disc harrows, harvesters, and tractors under various government schemes, such as Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) and Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). It will then offer this equipment to farmers on rent.
Conclusion:
- Therefore, constitution of Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) will help in reduction in reduce post-harvesting losses, bring down the foodgrain handling and transportation cost
- Along with it, it will increase the participation and role of farmer through PACs in agriculture sector.