PM welcomes inauguration of National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways & Coasts at IIT Madras

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways & Coasts (NTCPWC) at DiscoveryCampusofIIT,Madras. NTCPWCwasestablishedunderthe ambitious Sagarmala program at a cost of Rs. 77 crore. The Role Model centre will provide solutions to challenges in the maritime sector through scientific support, education, applied research and technology transfer at the local, regional, national and international levels.

The Prime Minister replied: "The NTCPWC at @iitmadras will strengthen the growth of India’s maritimesector.

Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Corridor will double Port’s handling capacity : Nitin Gadkari

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said that the greenfield double-decker elevated highway between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal in Tamil Nadu would reduce the travel time for vehicles boundfortheportbyanhour.

While sharing the graphical images of the project in a series of tweets, the Minister said, “Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana initiative, a new Greenfield CorridorProjectisunderwayinthestate of Tamil Nadu. This involves the development of a Double Tier 4-lane Elevated Corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal. The completion of this project is expected to alleviate traffic congestion in Chennai by segregating localtrafficmovementontoonetierofthe

Elevated highway. Additionally, it will doublethehandlingcapacityoftheport, reduce waiting times at the port, and decrease travel time for vehicles bound fortheportbyanhour.”.

“The project is specifically designed to manage the expected increase in port-bound traffic, which is predicted to double by 2040 from current levels. In light of the dynamic leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, our unwavering commitment lies in expediting and optimizing the mobility sector by means of unparalleled infrastructural advancements”, Gadkaritweeted.

The20.6-kilometrefour-lanedoubledeckerelevatedexpressway,beingbuilt at a cost of Rs. 5,800 crore, is likely to be completed by December 2024, the ministerhadsaidearlier.

In October 2022, Gadkari had said that the project would be developed in four sections which would start from inside the Chennai Port and end after theMaduravoyalinterchange.

The expressway once completed, would serve as a dedicated freight corridor for Chennai bound port traffic and increase the handling capacity of the city’s port by 48% and subsequently reduce the waiting time at the port by sixhours,theministerhadsaid.

The first level of the double-decker corridor would be for light vehicles between Koyambedu and Chennai port, while the second level would be designed specifically for heavy vehicles between Chennai port and Maduravoyal.

Logistics to be full of opportunities for our youth in coming years: Rajeev Chandrashekar

NEW DELHI: Logistics will be an area full of opportunities for young students in the coming years with a huge scope for investment, entrepreneurship and employment, Union Minister of State for Skill Development Rajeev Chandrasekhar saidrecently.

Speaking at a conference on “Transforming Logistics for Coastal Economies” ahead of the third G20 Education Working Group meeting scheduled to be held from April 27 to 29 in Bhubaneswar, he said that the logistics will be an area full of opportunities for young students in the coming years, as much as Semiconductors, electronics, and Information technology, with huge scopeforinvestment,entrepreneurship andemployment.

“This is an interesting time for the world, representing opportunities and challengesandinthiscontext,Indiahas become the fastest growing nation of the world. And India is being looked upon by the world with a lot more respect,”headded.

The Minister noted that the world is looking at resilient logistics and trusted supply chains, moving away from risk andtowardstrustedresilienteconomy.

“With this, the focus and discussion on logistics is important in coastal stateslikeOdisha.In2014,82%ofmobile phones consumed in India were imported, in 2022, almost 100% mobile phones consumed in India are manufacturedinIndia,”hesaid.

In 2014, India used to export almost zero mobile phones and this year alone, India has exported Apple phones, Samsung phones made in India to the tuneofabout11billiondollars.

“One of the arguments for India for many decades had been that India did not have a viable market and the capacity to become a global manufacturing hub as the logistics cost of doing business in India was not competitive. Today global majors are manufacturing semiconductors, electronics, mobiles and many more products in India, exporting and selling in India as well as the underlying logistics ecosystem has become more efficient,”headded.

The Minister emphasised on the vision of the Prime Minister which suggests that as much as you focus on receiving degrees, in the same manner, you should focus on acquiring skills, as that will increase the prospects of your employability in modern and post pandemictechade.

“As the future is about skilling, upskilling and reskilling, and skilling will always remain a continuous process,”headded.