Andaman and Nicobar Islands to be Maritime and Startup Hub

 Andaman and Nicobar Islands to be Maritime and Startup Hub

• Recently, the Prime Minister has declared that the Andaman and Nicobar islands will be developed as a "maritime and startup hub".
• A transshipment hub has been proposed in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• A transshipment is when cargo or a container is moved from one vessel to another while in transit to its final destination.
• It will be built in South Bay, Great Nicobar Island, to provide Indian shoppers an alternative to the Colombo (Sri Lanka), Singapore and Port Klang (Malaysia) transshipment ports.
• Also, Port Blair airport is to be expanded and some of the islands will be also connected with seaplanes.

Background:

• In 2015, the government had announced an ambitious, Rs 10,000 crore economic plan to transform the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into the country’s first maritime hub.
• This included infrastructure construction, protection of the original Jarawa inhabitants, and boosting the tourism potential.
• Earlier, India had also invited global investors to develop the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.
• The Union Government constituted the Island Development Agency on 1st June 2017 for the development of islands.

Governance:

• Better connectivity in the region will facilitate the delivery of e-governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education, as a part of the Digital India initiative.
• The region will play an important role in his government's self-reliant India project.

Economic:

• Small enterprises, Business Process Outsourcing Services and other medium and large enterprises will also benefit from better connectivity and opportunities in e-commerce,
• This can be leveraged to promote the government’s Startup India initiative.
• The internet costs will also come down and it will give a boost to tourism and the local economy.
• The building of a transshipment hub will be critical for India’s trade and help the group of islands become an important center of the blue economy.

Strategic:

• The islands are critical for India's security because of its strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Better infrastructure and connectivity will help India enhance its military and naval strength in the islands.
• The islands are home to India's only tri-services command, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) which is strategically important, more so, on the backdrop of the Chinese aggression in the region.
• Earlier this year, China was accused by Vietnam of sinking its sea in its Exclusive Economic Zone.

International Relations:

• It will also help India to build better economic relations with the ASEAN region.
• The importance of the islands has increased in light of India's 'Act East' policy.

Way Forward

• The provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and broadband facilities in these islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of consumers, as well as for strategic and governance reasons.

Source: The Hindu