Ocean-based Blue Economy is next sunrise sector for development, says minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Ocean-based Blue Economy is the next sunrise sector for development and India must equip itself to secure optimum opportunities from it, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said.

Sarbananda Sonowal made this remark at the Indian Maritime University's (IMU) 7th convocation in Chennai on Friday.

"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 aquaculture, marine biotechnology, ocean energy and sea bed mining etc," a statement from his ministry said quoting him.

Sonowal said it could be achieved only through training the talent pool with the best possible knowledge and training on modern marine technologies.

"I am confident that we will continue to work towards enabling our students and cadets with the best possible training so that the ultimate objective of marine economy-led growth can be unlocked for the growth of the Indian economy," the minister said.

As many as 3179 students received their degrees virtually. At the convocation, Sarbananda Sonowal awarded Gold and Silver medals to the top students from various disciplines.

The programme was also attended by the Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism Shripad Naik.

IMU - headquartered in Chennai - was established on November 14, 2008 as a Central University by merging seven legacy institutes to provide quality maritime education, training, and research. IMU offers undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and Ph. D programmes in its 6 Campuses located at Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam. There are 17 Maritime Training Institutes affiliated with IMU.

( With inputs from ANI )