In Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, island development will be a key focus for coming years, the economic survey 2023-24 said.
Under the Maritime India Vision 2030, Andaman & Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep Islands are planned to be developed for tourism and other initiatives in a phased manner, the survey said.
Andaman Lakshadweep Harbour Works will develop the port infrastructure required to meet the growing demand and also provide technical support to local port departments for operations.
Shortlisted islands in Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar and Gujarat are proposed to be developed over the next decade around the themes of eco-tourism, ship repair, seaplane building and repair, maritime training institute, free trade zones and bunkering terminals. Such developments can further be expanded to other islands in the country, the survey added.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her interim budget speech on February 1 had said that Lakshadweep will get a major infrastructure boost to cater to growing tourist interest.
Port connectivity, tourism infrastructure and amenities will be put in place for Lakshadweep and other islands, as demand for domestic destination grows, the minister had added.
During a visit to Lakshadweep earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged Indians to explore destinations within the country.
Following which the union territory, an archipelago of 36 islands, recorded massive surge in searches on travel platforms. Online travel aggregators such as Ixigo and MakeMyTrip saw 2,900 percent and 3,400 percent increase in searches for Lakshadweep.
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