PM Modi highlights ₹3 lakh cr economic boost from shipbuilding projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the commissioning of INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer to mark the Army Day, said along with increasing the strength of the Indian armed forces, Make in India is also opening new doors of economic progress.

"For example, the shipbuilding ecosystem is an example. Many of you would know, that experts also say that the more investment is made in shipbuilding, the more positive impact it has on the economy. That is, if we invest ₹1 in shipbuilding, then around ₹1.82 paise circulates in the economy. Just imagine, currently, there are 60 big ships under construction in the country. Their value is around ₹1.5 lakh crore. That is, by investing this much money, around ₹3 lakh crore will circulate in our economy," the PM said, while saying that today marks the first time when a destroyer, a frigate and a submarine were being commissioned together.

Talking about jobs that will be generated by these Make in India projects, the PM says it has a 6 times multiplier effect. "Most of the material, most of the parts of the ships come from the MSMEs of the country. Therefore, if 2000 workers are engaged in the work of building a ship, then in the other industry, which is the MSME supplier, around 12 thousand jobs are created in that MSME sector."

As India moves rapidly towards becoming the third largest economy in the world, the PM says manufacturing and exporting capacity is also increasing. "In the coming years, India will need hundreds of new ships and new containers. Therefore, this model of port-led development is going to give impetus to our economy and create thousands of new employment opportunities."

Talking about sea-farers, the PM says their number is also an example of how employment is increasing in this sector. "In 2014, the number of sea-farers in India was less than 1.25 lakh. Today it has more than doubled to reach almost 3 lakh. Today India has come in the top-five in the world in the number of sea-farers."

He says the NDA's third term has started with many big decisions. "One of the first big decisions of our third term was the approval of Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra. The construction work of this modern port has already started for ₹75,000 crore. This will also create thousands of new employment opportunities in Maharashtra."