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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major...

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major flashpoint between the alliance partners and raising serious questions about their internal coordination. The political storm began brewing when Shirsat called upon Dipke’s residence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on July 26. The visit immediately raised eyebrows in the BJP camp, given that Dipke’s recent agitations have been squarely aimed at the saffron party, with direct rhetorical attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The simmering anger boiled over during Shah’s visit to Pune on August 1, where the Union Home Minister is said to have expressed his profound displeasure over the Sena minister’s diplomatic faux pas. Taking immediate cognizance of the BJP’s mounting outrage, Shinde reportedly summoned Shirsat over a phone call, demanding a swift explanation and firmly reprimanding him for the political indiscretion. However, neither the government nor party officials have issued an on-the-record confirmation of these developments. Political Battle Despite the fierce political backlash, Shirsat has stubbornly stood his ground, offering a personal justification for the contentious rendezvous. Defending his actions, the minister clarified that his ties with the Dipke family go back a long way and that he firmly believes in keeping political battles separate from personal relationships. He further noted that Abhijeet Dipke was in Delhi during the time of the visit, and the meeting was strictly limited to Dipke’s parents. Shirsat also pointed out that he had deliberately avoided visiting the family earlier to steer clear of the ongoing political controversies, though his belated visit seems to have done little to prevent a political firestorm. For the BJP, the visit is not just a matter of poor optics but a glaring breach of alliance protocol. Senior BJP leaders are reportedly furious that they were kept completely in the dark, insisting that the party leadership should have been informed in advance before a sitting Mahayuti minister extended an olive branch to a vocal critic. This lack of communication has once again brought the fragile issue of coordination within the Mahayuti alliance to the forefront, prompting the BJP to officially register its objection. Disciplinary Action The controversy has now sparked intense speculation about whether Shinde will wield the same disciplinary stick against MLC Bachchu Kadu. Kadu recently stirred the pot by not only meeting Dipke but doing so in the company of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Chandrakant Khaire. The BJP has already been nursing a grievance against Shinde for generously accommodating Kadu with a legislative council seat from his party’s own quota. As the dust refuses to settle on these controversial meetings, political circles in Maharashtra are watching with bated breath to see if this episode will further vitiate the atmosphere within the Mahayuti or trigger a fresh set of consequential political realignments.

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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