“Blue Economy 2.0” was introduced to the Parliament at the interim budget presentation. The action is an attempt to expand the nation’s aquaculture industry, also referred to as aquafarming, which is the commercial production of aquatic organisms in regulated aquatic habitats.
Blue Industry 2.0 is a plan to advance India’s current efforts to investigate the possibilities of the country’s maritime blue industry. Prime Minister Modi set the groundwork for projects totalling more than Rs 23,000 crore for the Indian maritime blue economy during the third edition of the Global Maritime India Summit, which took place in October 2023. Additionally, he committed to cooperation in the marine industry with over 300 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) valued at over Rs 7 trillion.
The projects align with the Center’s objective of creating a “Viksit Bharat (developed nation)” by 2047, the nation’s centennial of independence. These advancements are consistent with the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ October 2021 launch of India’s Deep Ocean Mission, which aims to strengthen the country’s maritime infrastructure.
With a coastline spanning around 7.5 thousand kilometres, India is one of the countries with a vast maritime ecosystem. There are 1,382 islands in Indian geography, and nine of the country’s states are coastal. Based on government data, India has 12 main ports that handle 1,400 million tons of cargo annually. India has 199 ports overall.
A ‘Blue Economy Vision 2025’ has also been released in India by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It implies that the effects of the Blue Economy extend beyond the ocean to other domains, including food security, employment prospects, poverty, and climate change.