– By Yogita
– Intern IPPCS’21
– Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Oceans are home to 99% of the living space and contain 97% of the Earth’s water. However, due to the increase in pollution, dumping of plastic waste, industrial waste, and effluents, their health decreases daily. The health of millions of marine flora and fauna are in danger. So, in 2015, the United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals under which Goal 14 is titled “Life Below Water”, which envisages “to conserve & sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”.
Gunter Pauli gives the concept of Blue Economy in the book- “The Blue Economy:10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs.” The World Bank describes Blue Economy as “the sustainable use of oceanic resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health”. Oceans are vital in the sense that they provide us oxygen to breathe, help to reduce climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases and are a significant source of employment to millions of people. So, it is imperative to preserve this invaluable resource by incorporating the idea of sustainable development. The first element in the Blue Economy is to preserve, protect & restore the health of oceanic resources and the second element is to enhance the opportunities and economic activities in the oceans in a very sustainable manner.
At the Commissioning of Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Barracuda in Mauritius, 2015, India’s Prime Minister observed, “To me, the Blue chakra or wheel in India’s national flag represents the potential of the Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the ocean economy is to us.” In this article, we will look at the opportunities and challenges in front of India to promote the Blue Economy.
The Indian Ocean is crucial for India because it is the most populated country in the littorals. In terms of quantity, 95% of India’s trade and value, 68% of the trade happens through the Indian Ocean..
The Indian Ocean region is rich in resource availability and holds vast potential in fisheries, ocean energy, mining and minerals, trade and tourism. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, while the other world oceans are about to reach their fish production limit, the Indian Ocean has enormous potential for continuously increased production..
The region also provides a massive potential for the trade sector as the trade in the region has increased from US$ 302 billion in 2003 to US$ 1.2 trillion in 2012. The Ministry of Shipping introduced the Sagarmala project in 2015 for the development and modernisation of ports. Along with this project, the investment in the shipbuilding sector can also prove good for the economy. So, to promote the higher economic development of India, it is necessary to explore the potential which the Indian Ocean region holds. We can also achieve the goal of becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2032 if the idea of a Blue Economy is adequately incentivised.
The waters also play a significant role in guarding India’s security interests, given the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008. India is involved with several countries to deal with the piracy issues and ecosystem health of the oceans. Nevertheless, the issues like narco-terrorism and trafficking in humans need to be addressed through partnerships with the neighbouring countries.
There are 5 “shared interests” related to the Indian Oceanic region- i)to protect the freedom of navigation for commercial shipping, ii) to harness the resources of the region sustainably and fairly, iii) to establish the rules and regulations for improving disaster prevention, relief work & search and rescue operations, iv) to counteract the issues like piracy, smuggling, terrorism and illegal weapons proliferation. However, the problem is that these interests overlap with the objectives of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), which PM Modi launched in 2015.
Concerted efforts need to be taken by all the countries to prevent any maritime competition. India’s position is essential to ensure coordination and cooperation on justifiable resource use, humanitarian measures, and the region’s governance. The institutions like Indian Ocean Naval Symposium and the Indian Ocean Rim Association are in place to foster cooperation among all the stakeholder countries. However, there is a question tag on their effectiveness. We need to establish a more robust organisation to bring all the countries together for the common goal of maritime security and cooperation.
So, the oceans have a large calibre to generate jobs and promote economic growth simultaneously. However, to extract the benefits from the resource-rich waters, India needs a very tenable and comprehensive framework that will help in sustainable development based growth and promote national security.
References
Hamant Maini and Lipi Budhraja. “Ocean-based Blue Economy: An Insight into the SAGAR as the Last Growth Frontier”. niti. gov.in https://www.niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Indian%20Ocean%20Region_v6(1).pdf
Andrew Hudson. “Blue Economy: a sustainable ocean economic paradigm” November 26, 2018
https://www.undp.org/blog/blue-economy-sustainable-ocean-economic-paradigm
Hamant Maini and Lipi Budhraja. “Ocean-based Blue Economy: An Insight into the SAGAR as the Last Growth Frontier”. niti. gov.in
https://www.niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Indian%20Ocean%20Region_v6(1).pdf
Andrew Hudson. “Blue Economy: a sustainable ocean economic paradigm” November 26, 2018
https://www.undp.org/blog/blue-economy-sustainable-ocean-economic-paradigm
Ibid.
Krishna Kataria. “Blue Economy: Navigating India’s Indian Ocean Vision”. June 09, 2021.
https://thedailyguardian.com/blue-economy-navigating-indias-indian-ocean-vision/
Dhruva Jaishankar. “Indian Ocean Region: A Pivot for India’s Growth”. September 12, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/indian-ocean-region-a-pivot-for-indias-growth/
Hamant Maini and Lipi Budhraja. “Ocean-based Blue Economy: An Insight into the SAGAR as the Last Growth Frontier”. niti. gov.in https://www.niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Indian%20Ocean%20Region_v6(1).pdf
Dhruva Jaishankar. “Indian Ocean Region: A Pivot for India’s Growth”. September 12, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/indian-ocean-region-a-pivot-for-indias-growth/
onducted a total of five underground nuclear tests, breaking a 24-year self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. Pakistan followed, claiming 5 tests on May 28, 1998, and an additional test on May 30. The unannounced tests created a global storm of criticism, as well as a serious setback for decades of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation efforts in South Asia. On May 13, 1998, President Clinton imposed economic and military sanctions on India, mandated by Section 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), and applied the same sanctions to Pakistan on May 30. Some effects of the sanctions on India included: termination of $21 million in FY1998 economic development assistance; postponement of $1.7 billion in lending by the International Financial Institutions (IFI), as supported by the Group of Eight (G-8) leading industrial nations; prohibition on loans or credit from U.S. banks to the government of India; and termination of Foreign Military Sales under the Arms Export Control Act. Humanitarian assistance, food, or other agricultural commodities are excepted from sanctions under the law. 
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The foreign ministry
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