SHAJI BABY JOHN
Wednesday, 18 May 2022 | Shaji Baby John
The war in Ukraine dominated the media headlines during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Germany, France and the Nordic countries a few days ago. As reports of the trail of death and destruction mounted in Ukraine, perhaps, it was inevitable on the part of the media to focus on the PM’s views on the Russia-Ukraine war. I would, however, take this opportunity to highlight the significant initiatives undertaken by the Indian PM to put forward the potential of the blue economy of India during his whirlwind travel through a select group of European capitals.
Apart from meeting leaders of Germany and France the highlight of the visit was the second Indo-Nordic Summit held at Copenhagen on May 4. The summit attended by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir of Iceland, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland provided the Indian Prime Minister a great opportunity to showcase the business opportunities in India to the investors in the Nordic region.
As a social entrepreneur having intimate connections with India’s fisheries sector for more than four decades I am happy that the Prime Minister selected the blue economy in India as a key component of his speech at the summit. Blue economy is an all encompassing buzzword signifying the harnessing of ocean wealth, developing coastal infrastructure, innovative food security systems, livelihood of coastal communities and conservation of coastal ecology etc. Inviting the Nordic investors to be part of India’s blue economy PM Modi specifically mentioned the Sagarmala project. The Sagarmala programme, according to media reports, comprised, “more than 800 projects at an estimated cost of around Rs 5.48 lakh crore”. As the name suggests Sagarmala is a chain that links all important elements of the blue economy.
“Discussions were held on multilateral cooperation in post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, sustainable development, innovation, digitalisation and, green and clean growth. Discussions were also held on cooperation in the maritime sector with a focus on sustainable ocean management. The Prime Minister invited Nordic companies for investing in the blue economy sector, especially in India’s Sagarmala project,” the readout issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the summit stated.
Many economically advanced countries such as the UK and Australia have already initiated projects to harness the blue economy potential as land-based projects have reached a saturation level. PM Modi targeting sovereign wealth funds to be part of the Indian blue economy makes great sense for the entrepreneurs involved in developing ecologically sustainable models in the sector. The Sagarmala project has been designed to develop the necessary forward and backward linkages for the rapid development of India’s vast coastal resources. The Kings Maritech Eco Park, an ecologically sustainable, carbon neutral entity comprising multiple units of plug and play facilities for precision indoor aquaculture promoted by the Kings Infra Ventures blends very well with the Sagarmala vision. The world class infrastructure and technology at the Maritech Eco Park for mariculture production is one such project that can benefit from the Sagarmala project. The long coastline, scientific and technological pool and a very diverse coastal community with distinct domain expertise provide the ideal opportunity for India to emerge as the global leader in the blue economy sector. The entrepreneurs and investors needed to seize the opportunity and charter a success story similar to the strides made by the Indians in the ICT sector.
The Prime Minister highlighting India’s potential in the Indo-Nordic summit has to be viewed as part of a well conceived plan with good strategic inputs. The Nordic countries, known for their expertise and advanced technology in the fisheries sector, would be eager to get a foothold in the Indian fisheries sector with its huge potential. The countries in the Nordic region facing resource depletion and limited scope for spatial expansion of aquaculture would be eager to gain access to India. The appeal to sovereign wealth funds also makes sense as they are known for having a long-term perspective while deciding the investment portfolio compared with private investment entities looking for quick returns.
It would be appropriate to mention here that India is having prior experience in collaborating with the Nordic countries in the fisheries sector. The Indo-Norwegian project initiated in the 1950s was the catalyst for developing seafood production and exports from the country. The Kings group was one of the beneficiaries as our founder Baby John started his business by acquiring the first few mechanised fishing boats with the support of the Indo-Norwegian project at Neendakara Kollam. Norway, one of the leaders in the fisheries sector in the Nordic region, realises 77 per cent of its total value from fisheries sector (US $ 10,814.6 million) from aquaculture, mostly from salmon using most modern technology and global marketing strategies to place the products at high premiums. This shows that India has much to gain from the collaborations with Nordic countries.
Prime Minister Modi has been consistently highlighting the significance of the blue economy for the overall development of the economy and food security of the country. “We talk of the Green Revolution and White Revolution but we need to look at the Blue Revolution, in fisheries. There is great scope for development there,” he said while speaking at the foundation day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 2014. He revisited the issue in a public meeting at Amreli in Gujarat in 2017. Our Prime Minister’s vision to focus on sovereign funds from Europe, especially the Nordic countries to propel India’s growth story by leveraging our blue economy is really commendable. It is high time for entrepreneurs to seize the moment and initiate projects that would create a win-win situation for everyone in the country.
(The author is the chairman of Kings Infra Ventures Limited who also writes on the blue economy and sustainable food production system. Views expressed are personal)
