'Government to set shipping research at IIT Kharagpur'

To catapult India into the league of nations like Germany, Belgium and Russia that possess advanced maritime technology, the government has decided to set up a state-of-the-art centre for shipping research at IIT Kharagpur, Union Minister Mansukh Lal Mandaviya said Wednesday.

The centre, under the Make in India programme, will not only boost vessels based on electricity, battery and LNG but will also be developed as a hub for global research for vessel designs, he said after the Ministry of Shipping inked a pact with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, here.

"To boost 'Make in India' drive of the Prime Minister and develop advanced vessels on the latest technology here in India, we will set up Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) at IIT Kharagpur. So far, only a few nations such as Germany, Netherlands, Russia and Belgium possess these technologies and excel in maritime research," Mandaviya said while addressing media.

He said not only the Centre will boost the domestic shipbuilding industry but would also promote advanced ships on electricity, battery and LNG and will ultimately be developed as a global hub.

Indigenous technology is the need of the hour for the maritime sector, and the government is determined to promote Make In India as per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said

He said the Centre will be set up under the ministry's flagship Sagarmala programme and added that the project is of strategic long-term interest for the port and maritime sector of the country and will provide tremendous impetus to inland water transportation and coastal shipping.

"This centre will be a hub for the latest technology tools for the maritime sector and reduce India's dependence on foreign institutions. It will also reduce the cost of research drastically and result in cost and time savings for work in the port and maritime sector," he said.

Mandaviya said that currently, there is no testing and experimentation facility available in the country for inland and coastal vessels and the shipbuilders have to approach various European countries for this.

He said the project will also bring down transportation charges.

The project, costing Rs 69.20 crore, is being funded under the Sagarmala programme. The funding for CICMT is for 5 years after which revenues generated from the end users will make it sustainable.

IIT Kharagpur Director Partha C Chakrabarti said the project will ensure that India becomes a key player other than top-five countries and a break-even point will be reached in three years.

He said that with efficient vessels, the aim would be to reduce the logistics cost from 15 per cent to 10 per cent which will hugely benefit the nation.

CICMT at IIT Kharagpur will provide technological support, research, testing and experimentation facility to agencies involved in inland water transport, shipbuilding and ports, among others.

The Centre will focus on ship design for coastal or inland waterways, shipbuilding technology and structural design, transport systems & logistics, cryogenic cargo handling, green/renewable energy harvesting from coastal and inland waters and automation and artificial intelligence (AI) for maritime operations.

Earlier, Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna and IIT Kharagpur Director Chakrabarti signed a memorandum of agreement for the facility.