Moneycontrol Bureau
Shipping stocks were rose sharply Tuesday, a day after road, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari said the government had decided to launch PM Jal Marg Yojna, in a bid to boost water transport in the country.
"Ninety percent of the Exim (export-import) cargo in India is transported through ships but the contribution of domestic cargo in it is only 10 percent,” PTI quoted the minister as saying. “In a bid to boost water transport, we have requested the Prime Minister to launch PM Jal Marg Yojna, which will change the face of India.”
Gadkari made the statement in Rajya Sabha yesterday, and added the government was looking to set up dry and satellite ports in the country as well convert riverways into waterways.
Shipping stocks such as SKS Logistics, Mercator, Varun Shipping and BharatiShipyard rose 3.8 percent to 5 percent in trade today.
Even as water transport is the cheapest – as well as most ecologically-sensitive – mode of transport, it has only a miniscule amount of share in the overall transport arena in India, which is dominated by roads and railway.
“We give subsidy to the polluting roadways and impose surcharges on the non-polluting water transport…developing the waterways is our top priority…it will revolutionise [transport],” Gadkari had recently said, adding that the sector could contribute as much as 2 percent to India’s GDP.
The BJP in its election manifesto had said it would launch an integrated public transport project, which would include roadways, railways and waterways, and that it would look to “develop waterways for passenger and cargo transport”.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
