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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

New Frontiers

India’s most telling victories at the Asian Games in Nagoya came from the most unexpected quarters. While cricket and hockey did what champions are supposed to do and defended their crowns, the more consequential breakthroughs came from a 17-year-old archer and a 23-year-old golfer, who stormed territory no Indian woman had entered before. The significance of Kumkum Mohod’s historic recurve gold and Pranavi Urs’s first individual golf gold go well beyond than merely being medals to India’s...

New Frontiers

India’s most telling victories at the Asian Games in Nagoya came from the most unexpected quarters. While cricket and hockey did what champions are supposed to do and defended their crowns, the more consequential breakthroughs came from a 17-year-old archer and a 23-year-old golfer, who stormed territory no Indian woman had entered before. The significance of Kumkum Mohod’s historic recurve gold and Pranavi Urs’s first individual golf gold go well beyond than merely being medals to India’s tally. They are markers of a sporting culture in which Indian women are no longer merely participating at the highest level, but increasingly redefining what success looks like. Kumkum’s achievement was remarkable even by the standards of a breakthrough. She defeated South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off-like 6-5 finish after overcoming a reigning world champion, Kang Chaeyoung, in the quarter-final and former world No. 1 Jingyi Zhu in the semi-final. Her haul of two golds and a silver, alongside an Olympic quota place, suggests that this is not merely a promising teenager but the arrival of a serious international competitor who is here to stay. Pranavi’s victory was a different test of temperament. A triple bogey on the third hole had erased her three-stroke overnight advantage. While many a golfer would have watched the tournament disappear at that moment, she instead recovered with three birdies and finished at 15-under 265, one stroke ahead. Her individual gold also helped India secure the team silver, with Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar contributing to the effort. Women’s sport in India now is no longer simply a story of exceptional individuals overcoming exceptional obstacles. It is fast becoming an ecosystem which is producing women capable of competing across shooting, archery, badminton, boxing, wrestling, athletics, cricket, hockey and golf. While some are established stars, others are teenagers arriving with an expectation of winning rather than merely participating. Every Kumkum or Pranavi who wins a major title makes it easier for the next girl to imagine herself holding the same trophy in that field. Pranavi’s medal challenges the notion that the sport is an enclave of privilege and tradition rather than a field open to Indian talent. India’s 11-gold surge in the final two days owed much to disciplines outside the country’s traditional sporting spotlight. Archery produced nine medals, including five golds. The message here is that India’s sporting ambitions no longer rest on a handful of glamour sports like cricket. The next challenge is to convert Asian success into sustained global performance. The real test will come at the Olympics, where the fields are deeper and the margins narrower. This is the big takeaway from the astonishing performance of our women athletes at Nagoya. They are expanding the definition of what an Indian woman can achieve in sport and more importantly, what the country now expects her to achieve.

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Writer: Capt. Naveen S Singhal
Capt. Naveen S Singhal
Dec 5, 2024
4 min read
Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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