Overview

• At Bhavnagar’s ‘Samudra se Samriddhi’ event, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects totaling about Rs 34,200 crore across sectors.
• Maritime initiatives worth over Rs 7,870 crore included the inauguration of the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal and new terminals, berths and coastal protection works at multiple ports.
• Modi announced infrastructure status for large ships plus ‘One Nation, One Document’ and ‘One Nation, One Port’ processes to streamline trade, alongside revisions to five maritime laws.
• Framing the push as Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said dependence on other countries is India’s “biggest enemy” and noted his claim that trade carried on India-made ships has fallen from about 40% to 5% over five decades.
• The visit also featured a Bhavnagar roadshow, an aerial survey of the Dholera Special Investment Region, and a review of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal.