Rajnath Singh chairs meeting of Island Development Agency, presents vision for developing India's maritime economy

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Island Development Agency (IDA) and presented the vision for developing India's maritime economy while preserving the natural eco-system and addressing the security concerns.

The IDA was set up on June 1 following the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's review meeting for the development of islands.

The Union Home Minister emphasized upon the need for sustainable development of islands with people's participation.

The NITI Aayog's CEO made a detailed presentation on the current status and the way forward for holistic development of identified islands.

He informed that the Concept Development Plans and Detailed Master Plans are being prepared for identified islands with principles of sustainability, people's participation, eco-system preservation and determination of carrying capacity as the guiding principles. Such an exercise is being taken up for the first time in the country.

Admiral D.K. Joshi, former Chief of Naval Staff and Vice Chairman of IDA, suggested taking up suitable interventions for sustainable implementation of planned projects.

During the meeting, the progress being made for the formulation of integrated master plans and other matters concerning the islands development were reviewed.

It was also decided that Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and administrator of Lakshadweep Islands will be included as members of IDA.

After detailed consultations with key stakeholders, 10 islands namely Smith, Ross, Aves, Long and Little Andaman in Andaman & Nicobar and Minicoy, Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara in Lakshadweep have been identified for holistic development in the first phase. With this meeting, the efforts for holistic development of Islands of India received a major boost.

Other members of the IDA, including Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary (Environment, Forests and Climate Change), Secretary (Tourism) and Secretary (Tribal Welfare) also participated in the meeting.