Govt plans mega scheme for water transport network

In a bid to make transport more cost-effective and improve employment opportunities, the shipping ministry plans to start a new programme - Pradhan Mantri Jal Marg Yojana - to develop a strong river and inland water transport network.

"The idea is to use the coastal line, rivers and inland to develop a strong water transport network which will not only bring down fuel consumption but will also generate employment," said Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari. He was speaking at the International Maritime Organisation's annual day of the Seafarer 2014 here on Wednesday.

Apart from being fuel-efficient, higher usage of water transport network will also help reduce road accidents which are to the tune of 131,000 every year, said Gadkari.

"There is immense scope for capital investment in the shipping sector and we also see good employment potential here," Gadkari added.

With regard to giving seafarers some relief on the income tax front, Gadkari said, "I have already written to the finance ministry and from my side I have already pushed for it and I think some solution will be out."

Currently, Indian seafarers are drawn towards foreign shipping companies, as the latter has more conducive tax regime. Indian seafarers are exempted from paying any income tax when on foreign vessels, which is not the case when they are working for Indian vessels. It is only when a seafarer working for Indian vessel stays outside Indian territorial waters for more than six months that he can claim refunds as an NRI.

On a pension scheme for Indian seafarers, Gadkari said once he was in Delhi, he would make changes to the existing Act and see to it that the scheme was implemented, as it would not burden the government in any manner.

The industry has proposed approval for pension scheme for its seafarers, which is a contributory fund, where shipowners and seafarers have been regularly contributing for the past 15 years. Due to this, the government does not really have to bear the burden of release funds towards this scheme. India has 12 major and 200 minor ports, spread across the 7,500-km coastal line.