The Indian and Sri Lankan governments have announced plans to initiate a ferry service between the two nations before the end of this month. Indian High Commissioner Santhosh Jha, speaking at a forum titled ‘India: Reform, Perform, Transform” on March 5, said that India has pledged to subsidise it while Sri Lanka has agreed to offer concessions. This project aims to enhance connectivity and foster closer ties between India and Sri Lanka.
The Indian High Commissioner was the guest speaker at the Press Club event organised by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI). Kumar Nadesan, Chairman of the SLPI Board of Directors, moderated the event. According to the senior diplomat, both governments have expressed their intention to expedite the implementation of the ferry service. However, a preexisting issue has been identified pertaining to the exorbitant charges that would be imposed, necessitating the provision of subsidies.
“We have made the decision to do so.” The High Commissioner said that a substantial sum of money, amounting to millions of rupees every day, will be paid to ensure the economic feasibility of the trips.
“Both countries have looked into the possibility of running the ferry, but so far they have not been successful. Every week, I look at how things are going to figure out the fastest way to get things done. Hopefully, the ferry service will start before the end of the month.
Expressions of Interest
We are also working on a more traditional and historically important option at the same time: a ferry between Talaimannar and Rameswaram. The Shipping Corporation of India has called for expressions of interest in this project,” he said.
Jha also said that the statement of interest covers more than just looking for a ferry service provider. It also includes wanting to improve port facilities at both ends and looking into choices for places further away.
In order for India’s ferry service to be profitable, it wants to go beyond a single point-to-point link and increase the number of times it runs with more than one provider. Adding multiple places to serve similar types of customers could be a common way to do this.
Moving to India’s transformation, the High Commissioner said that India has transformed in many ways, and digital transformation is at the heart of economic growth. “There is a comprehensive approach to building Bharat. Industries, Agriculture, and emerging technologies, coupled with the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, led to this tremendous transformation. It is very important to say that our main vision is to: “get everybody on the journey”. Accordingly, only 2 percent of the Indian population falls into the extreme poverty category.
Education infrastructure
Moreover, he said that Education played as well will play a major role in reforming a country. “Education Reforms must be done in a country for it to go forward. Education infrastructure must also be a part of this. Accordingly, over 7,000 colleges were built over the last seven years in India. And there is a high demand for the Indian talent. Therefore, we see a reglobalisation.
He talked about India’s strategic reformation and the Gati Shakti initiative, in which the Prime Minister of India stresses the value of size, scale, and speed in everything they do.
“Gati Shakti is about making that speed,” he said. With this system, ongoing supervision of current projects at the top level is made easier, so any problems or roadblocks can be found and fixed quickly.
Every country has problems, like made-up fears, that can get in the way of growth. Gati Shakti makes getting things done quickly and effectively possible. For example, the program made it possible to build 30 km of road instead of just 11 km at first, showing how successful Gati Shakti is. This method has been a huge success.
“At the top level, the Prime Minister leads through meetings called Pragathi, which means “progress.” He sits there and listens to progress reports while taking care of different project-related problems. These are projects in other countries, like Sri Lanka. “This proactive approach helps us finish projects faster and find better ways to spend money,” Jha said.
The High Commissioner placed significant emphasis on the fact that Gati Shakti also addresses the concerns of investors seeking to participate in renewable energy projects in India, with the objective of facilitating accelerated procedures. He also ascribed the notable expansion of the renewable energy industry over the past 8-10 years, characterised by a thirty-fold surge, to the expeditious authorisations provided by Gati Shakti.
