17th Convocation
Hold High Expectations for Yourself
Shri Shyam Jagannathan, IAS
Director General of Shipping
Directorate General of Shipping, Govt. of India
December 4, 2021
Graduating Speech
A Very Good Evening to one and all present here. Distinguished Guest Shri Digish Rawal, Director – legal counsel-SAS, Asia Pacific Special Guest Shri J. N. Sukanandanji, Group General Manager, Surface Manager, ONGC Mehsana Asset Special Guest Smt. Rutvi Sheth, Director – Adwait Greenergy, Ahmedabad. Distinguished Alumnus, Shri Mayur Thanki, General Manager, (Project Mentoring Group), Kalpataru Projects International Limited, Gandhinagar President and Patron-in-Chief of Ganpat University, Shri Ganpatbhai Patel, Director General and Pro Chancellor Dr. Mahendra Sharma, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. R. K. Patel, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Saurabh Dave, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Satyen Parikh, Executive Registrar Dr. Girish Patel Deputy Pro Vice Chancellors Members of the Board of Governors and Members of Academic Council,
Esteemed Trustees, Invited Guests and Dignitaries, Executive Deans and Deans of various faculties of Ganpat University, Directors, Principals, Chairpersons, faculty and staff members of constituent institutes of the University.
Personnels from Print & Electronic media and most importantly the reason for today’s celebration my dear Graduating Class of 2023 and their proud parents.
गुरू ब्रह्मा गुरू विष्णु, गुरु देवो महेश्वरा गुरु साक्षात परब्रह्म, तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः
On this hallowed day of the 17th Convocation, I feel privileged to be participating on this august occasion. I extend my warm greetings and congratulations to the recipients of the degrees and their parents/ mentors who are witnessing with pride their wards, today earning their laurels and graduating and stepping out of the thresholds of their Alma Mater and into the world with a sea of opportunities and a bright future ahead. I commend the eminent faculty and the management of Ganpat University for their efforts and stewardship of their worthy wards.
It is heartening to know that Ganpat University under the visionary leadership of Padmashri Dr. Ganpatbhai Patel has been scaling newer and newer heights every year while on a mission of Social Upliftment through Education. The foresightedness of Ganpatbhai is evident in the creation of lush green high-tech campus with stateof- art infrastructure, industry focussed academic programmes, industrial collaborations with prestigious organizations, world class centers of excellence, impressive rankings, recognitions, awards and accolades.
I am delighted to share that this university has a great and promising future as it happens to be the only institute in the state to offer a plethora of DG approved Pre Sea courses in the Maritime sector. It is also appreciable that within a decade , this institute has taken a major stride in establishing itself not only by augmenting infrastructure but also offering sustainable and holistic education. The institute has installed a 360 degree full mission simulator , the first of its kind in India , which has been inaugurated by me today . This has all latest features and is integrated with the existing Engine Room Simulator giving huge training capabilities to the cadets. The University has taken great stride in ensuring that its infrastructure is second to none and meets all the criteria including the future maritime perceptions. I have also been informed that the number of Girl cadets has been continuously increasing and now it is more than 10% . The University has been mandated by Govt of Goa to redesign , develop the existing maritime school into world class Goa Institute of Maritime Excellence . This will add feathers to the University whereby they will be conducting seamlessly Inland vessel courses with skill enhancement courses.
I am also happy to note that the University is planning to start the Deep Diving Institute in Goa which would fill the gap of Diving training in India. This is a great step towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat . I congratulate and give best wishes to Ganpat Bhai and his team to achieve more and more milestones in Maritime training and education. It is a testament to their efforts and its culmination that is witnessing today’s passing out wherein the Certificate recipient joins a global pool of enterprising and talented personnel, whose leadership and intellect shall have made remarkable and profound contributions to the advancement of the maritime sector in the near future. My dear students, today I would like to share my thoughts with you on how we all can come together to shape the future of the country and what can be done to cater to the needs of tomorrow with the education you have had. I am indeed very much excited and jubilant in your company today because youth means a small realm of dreams and a torrent of incessant energy. As you leave the safe and cosy environs of this campus it is only in retrospect that you will realize that it was indeed a cosy atmosphere, notwithstanding the strict rules and the exacting work. You will have the confidence of youth that will let you believe you can conquer the world. Friends, in the presence of such a sophisticated audience, I would like to bring forward a matter of serious consideration. The best universities in the world have always put emphasis on research and development. Our youth is equally talented. We will have to provide them a research conducive environment so that their creative ideas get materialized.
Now I would like to appraise all of you regarding Maritime Transportation and how
India is becoming a global player.
GLORIOUS PAST OF ANCIENT MARITIME INDIA :
Maritime trade links with the local rulers of Sumatra, Java, Malay Peninsula, Thailand and China. The people of Odisha, then known as Kalinga also traveled through sea routes to South East Asia. Fish Hooks and spears similar to those used in Kalinga were unearthed in Vietnam giving a testimony of Odisha’s maritime relations with Southeast Asia and China. The tradition of Bali Jatra is still popular in Odisha, and it is held in October-November for about a week. Archaeological evidence of indigo on the fabric of an Egyptian mummy, mention of the trade of Indian Ivory by Homer, Indian cedar found in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, Indian teak in the temple of the Moon Goddess in Ur, description of India and her skilled seafarers, ports, inhabitants, items of trade, structure of kingdoms including flora and fauna in foreign traveler’s accounts like Pliny, Ptolemy, Strabo, Megasthanes, Fa-hein, I-Tsing, Xuangzang,
merchant Sulaiman of Siraf, Marco Polo, Nicolo Conti and others point towards an unerring navigational skills and the maritime prowess of the Indian. This is the onerous history and tradition of yore you have to become worthy of proving yourself to this rich maritime tradition.
INDIA AS A WORLD LEADER
Our mighty Nation’s growth story and trajectory is in the limelight globally and it is indeed India’s moment. The most populous and yet the youngest in terms of a demographic dividend, the largest and most diverse democracy and yet the most stable political and socio economy structure, with its economic growth defying the post COVID slump and continuing growth story, the Indian economic Saga is set to surpass Japan and Germany by 2030, becoming the second largest economy in the Asia Pacific Region. While today India is ranked fifth in terms of the size of its economy at $ 3.7 Trillion in 2023-24 and will rise to $ 7.3 Trillion by 2030. India’s GDP is estimated to be around $ 26 trillion in market exchange rate terms by 2047-2048. India’s per capita income would exceed $ 15000 by FY 48’ thereby putting it among the ranks of developed economies.
INDIA’S RISING MARITIME PROWESS
India comprises a significant size maritime sector with 12 Major and 200+ Non- Major Ports handling 2605 MTPA, situated along its 7500 km long coastline and a vast network of navigable waterways with 10 % growth in coastal shipping in the last 5 years. The country’s maritime sector plays a crucial role in its overall trade and growth, with 95% of the country’s trade volume and 65% of the trade value being undertaken through maritime transport. There are nearly 43 Shipbuilding yards, 14 million GRT ship carrying capacity, 2.5 + lakh active seafarers and India handles 33% of the global ship recycling, 203 lighthouses of which 75 lighthouses being developed in PPP mode with over 10 lakh tourist footfall in the past 10 years. The 111 National Waterways with 23 operational National Waterways witnessing cargo growth of 38% CAGR in the past decade are all pointers towards India’s progress in the maritime sector as a maritime power globally.
Total traffic handled at Indian Ports rose from 1560 MTPA in 2014-15 to 2627 MTPA in 2022-23 with a vision to reach 3500+ by 2030. There has been 102 % increase in Major ports capacity, 1734 % increase in cargo handled in National waterways, 150 % increase in value of operationalized PPP projects ( 16 K cr to 40 K Cr) , 33 % increase in ship carrying capacity ( 10K GRT to 14K GRT), 262% increase in annual cruise passengers, 121 % increase in seafarers, 1300 % increase in wind and solar power capacity in Major ports ( 10 MW to 139 MW) and 136 % increase in footfall of tourists to lighthouses ( 4 Lac to 10 Lac)
100 MTPA26 capacity. Two Indian Ports (JNPA at 33, Mundra at 37) appear
within the top 40 ports category. There is a significant potential to develop port infrastructure in India and become competitive with other leading maritime nations such as the US, China and other South-East Asian regions. Hence, Indian ports need to focus on increasing draft availability according to their respective cargo profile. Class infrastructure are being developed at Wadhwan, Paradip and Deendayal Our major ports are today witnessing double digit annual growth and as per the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index report,
(i) Among 139 Countries, India spectacularly climbed 16 positions from 54th Position to 38th Position in 2022
(ii) In timelines, the country witnessed a 17 place jump in ranking from 52 in 2018 to 35 in 2022.
(iii) Today our average Container Dwell time is much better than advanced countries such as the USA and Germany. ( It went from 43.44 Hrs in 2014- 15 to 28.56 Hrs in 2022-23
(iv) Our turnaround time of 0.9 days is better than Canada, Australia, Germany and USA.