SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE INAUGURAL FUNCTION OF SCI'S GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, 2nd October 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to inaugurate the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of The Shipping Corporation of India. I extend my warm greetings to its entire team for completing five decades of yeoman service to the nation. Established as a small Public Sector Unit about fifty years ago under the inspiration of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, it has now grown to become the largest and most diversified shipping company, a Navratna PSU of our country. That this organization was founded on 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, imposes on it a duty to work in accordance to his principle of "progress through fair practices". Today which is observed as the International Day of Non-Violence, we must affirm our commitment to uphold the Gandhian values of truth and non-violence, harmony and tolerance. These values won India its freedom and have provided an ethical underpinning to the nation. The philosophy of Gandhiji is of great relevance in our world and essential for peace, progress and prosperity of humankind.

The Shipping Corporation of India has contributed immensely in establishing a significant place for our country, as a strong maritime nation, on the global maritime map. India has one of the largest merchant shipping fleets and in 2009 was ranked 16th in the world. The SCI, which has a diversified fleet with almost one third of the country's total tonnage, is transporting various products and goods to meet the requirements of the country. Shipping has got collateral linkages with several other industrial activities of considerable economic consequence. Thus, the corporate slogan of SCI - "Transporting Goods Transforming Lives", truly reflects the significance and contributions of SCI's services towards the needs and development of the nation. India is the fourth leading economy in the world in terms of its purchasing power and one of the fastest growing. This necessitates that the shipping industry in India must gear up to meet the nation's growing requirements.

Trading by sea is vital to world trade. Ships continue to provide a reliable way of moving bulk cargo from continent to continent. 90 percent of global trade is carried by sea, and the total sea borne trade estimates have over the last four decades more than quadrupled. Around 90 percent of India's overseas trade in terms of volume and 70 percent by value are seaborne. The shipping industry should continuously expand, modernize and become competitive. I am informed that the SCI has plans to expand its fleet so as to meet the requirement of the growing trade of the country. I would urge that this be done in a time bound manner and with emphasizes given to latest technologies.

It is also important that the shipping industry focuses on specialized handling, as transportation of different commodities and cargos require different forms of ships, containerization and handling equipment. The SCI was the first shipping company to venture into the highly specialized and greener sphere of LNG transportation, with the formation of joint ventures with leading International shipping companies. I am informed that till date, the SCI is the only shipping company in India providing transportation of LNG.

Energy has an intrinsic link with the entire economic activity of the country. It is considered to be the very engine that drives economic growth. Its availability is the key to sustainable development, and has a direct impact on the entire economy and day to day lives of our fellow countrymen. India is dependent on import of oil, gas and coal for meeting its energy requirements. Further, with the country's energy requirement expected to grow manifold in the coming years, the shipping industry will need to play a pivotal role in achieving this mission. I hope that the SCI will have a leading role in this endeavour.

The efficiency of any industry is dependent on its human resources. Hence, training and capacity building must be given high importance. Today, seafarers from India are considered to be one of the best in the world, in terms of their quality and efficiency. There are about 54 crore youth in our country. Our youth are looking for opportunities to work. A maritime career can be a very promising option for them. I call on our shipping industry to attract the youth and to invest in their training. The SCI has been providing training to the country's seafarers over the years, and I hope it will continue to do so with great zeal. India can become the hub for manpower development for the maritime nations of the developing world.

In the current global climate the challenge for the maritime community is also to ensure security. Hence, there should be greater vigilance towards the security of personnel and cargo. The shipping industry should evolve a security drill for merchant ships. There should also be greater attention to improved safety standards, to prevent accidents and the devastating effect on the ecology, which has an adverse impact on the image of the industry. The recent collision which occurred at Mumbai caused widespread damage. Apart from the losses that were incurred due to the closure of Mumbai port for almost five days, the incident has caused heavy ecological losses to the surrounding area. Our country is bestowed with a beautiful coastline of about 7500 kilometers. It is our prime duty to preserve the ocean property and utmost care needs to be taken to avoid recurrence of such incidents.

Once again, I extend my best wishes to the entire team of the SCI for greater success. I am confident that it will continue to work with the same spirit and enthusiasm in the years ahead, so that soon India will be in the frontline of leading maritime nations.

Thank you.

Jai Hind.