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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Fadnavis hero of BJP's victory

Mumbai: In a resounding testament to his strategic prowess, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as the architect of the BJP’s impressive election victory in the state. The way he orchestrated the campaign, crafted his message, and selected candidates has left observers and allies alike hailing his mastery of the political landscape. Even as the Municipal Council results unfolded, most of the political analysts were reminded of the Mahayuti’s resounding victory during the assembly...

Fadnavis hero of BJP's victory

Mumbai: In a resounding testament to his strategic prowess, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as the architect of the BJP’s impressive election victory in the state. The way he orchestrated the campaign, crafted his message, and selected candidates has left observers and allies alike hailing his mastery of the political landscape. Even as the Municipal Council results unfolded, most of the political analysts were reminded of the Mahayuti’s resounding victory during the assembly elections last year. While Fadnavis played crucial role even in those elections, the credit for those results was given primarily to the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, under whole leadership the Mahayuti had contested the election. However, Fadnavis, who took the charge of the state last year after the assembly elections, successfully demonstrated that even after a year in the saddle, he has been able to not just keep the popularity of the Mahayuti intact, but has actually increased it. Fadnavis’ strategy was built on a delicate balance of people-centric initiatives, social pragmatism, and a keen understanding of the state’s complex political dynamics. His relentless focus on development, coupled with a sharp eye on social arithmetic, helped the BJP connect with voters across demographics. Grassroot Workers Yet another decisive factor that worked in favour of Fadnavis was the positive reinforcement that he provided to the grassroot workers of the BJP in particular and Mahayuti constituents in general. These elections of Nagar Palika and Nagar Panchayats are considered to be the elections driven entirely by the grassroot political workers. Through is tiring campaign trail Fadnavis assured these grassroot workers that he would stand by their side and for them in their testing times. “Grassroot workers are the real nerves for any political party. Fadnavis not just reached out to people for them, but also presented the grand vision of developemnt for their respective areas, making the victory easy for them. When juxtaposed with leaders like Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who didn’t even address a single rally for these elections, the importance of Fadnavis’ efforts from the point of view of grassroot workers emerges taller,” said one of the senior officials of CMO, while highlighting the difference between Fadnavis and the opposition leaders, who, in his opinion left the grassroot workers of their respective parties alone to fight for themselves. Stark Contrast State BJP president Ravindra Chavan highlighted the stark contrast between Fadnavis and his opponents. Fadnavis, who addressed over 50 large rallies to campaign for these elections, never criticized any of the opposition leaders. His single minded focus was on the development agenda that he has set for the state and explaining to people as to how he has been advancing it. He reached out to people over phone and through the internet to places where it was impossible for him to reach due to time constraints. Even in those short interactions he could convince the people that he is well aware of their issues and aspirations and he also assured them of solutions to their problems. On the contrary the opposition leaders tried to spread a false narrative against him. Social Fabric Apart from Fadnavis’ ability to strike a chord with the masses through his rallies, Fadnavis also demonstrated his grasp of the state’s social fabric by ensuring representation to various communities in the candidate selection process. The BJP’s list of candidates was a testament to his ability to balance competing interests and create a diverse yet cohesive team. Fadnavis’ leadership style, often described as decisive and inclusive, has earned him recognition as one of the BJP’s most effective leaders in the state. His ability to navigate complex political situations, including the split in the Shiv Sena and the alliance with Eknath Shinde, showcased his strategic acumen. As the BJP’s star campaigner, Fadnavis cramped the opposition’s style by projecting himself as a leader above narrow politics. His emphasis on good governance, transparency, and accountability resonated with urban voters, who are increasingly looking for leaders who can deliver results. The results are a testament to Fadnavis’ ability to connect with the people and his party’s commitment to serving them. As he looks to the future, the onus is on him to deliver on his promises and take Maharashtra to new heights.

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

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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