Several projects were unveiled by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday at the Indian Maritime University’s (7th) convocation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Union Minister also opened the IMU’s Centre for Policy Research in Maritime Studies (C-PRiMeS).
The C-PRiMeS centre will conduct maritime research and serve as an advisory board for the growth of the marine industry. At the IMU commencement, Sonowal unveiled a number of projects to support the government’s Sagarmala programme and help realise the enormous potential of the Indian Ocean’s blue economy.
Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to attend this important event here today. As India works through the Amrit Kaal to become an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the role of Blue Economy in propelling the growth story of India is immense,” he added, “Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry is working to strengthen the coastal economy of the country through its Sagarmala programme. While improve our infrastructure, we must equip ourselves to secure optimum utilisation of the opportunity at hand as Ocean based Blue Economy is the next sunrise sector for development.”
Adding on the new opportunities from marine sectors, the Union Minister said, “Apart from traditional sectors like shipping, offshore mineral exploration, fishing, undersea cable and tourism, we must equip our economy to take the best advantage from the upcoming sectors like Aqua culture, marine biotechnology, ocean energy and sea bed mining etc. This can be done only through training our talent pool with the best possible knowledge and training on modern marine technologies which is being made possible here at IMU.“
Students are receiving training through the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme in order to enhance the training curriculum and expose them to the top minds in the field.
The IMU has established a Chair position with the help of the Institute of Marine Engineers India (IME-I), and with the Company of Master Mariners of India (CMMI), professional exposure for cadets and students is being carried out in order to strengthen the capacity of IMU in industrial research, consultancy, and policy studies. For the training of faculty, a three-year, three-lakh cumulative professional development allowance (CPDA) has also been implemented.
In order to collaborate on policy research for the maritime sector, the IMU also has partnerships with the National Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS), Bengaluru, and Research & Information System (RIS), New Delhi. The Career Advancement Scheme at IMU has been nominating students for a variety of training programmes, and it has been taking place at the Antwerp Port Training Center in Belgium.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) granted IMU a project worth 21.94 lakhs for the “Development of Energy Efficient River survey drifter drone (Autonomous survey craft)” on Self-Propulsion Model (SPM), which is only one of the organization’s many recent accomplishments.
Additionally, the government of Tamil Nadu approved a project costing 57.50 lakh rupees for an offshore reconnaissance survey of a Sangam Age Korkai Port, which is one of the most recent research projects carried out by IMU in collaboration with NIOT, Chennai.
