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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Tibetans, Nepalis worry, pray for kin

Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi students during a candle prayer vigil in Chennai on Friday for the victims and survivors of the flash floods in Nepal. Pic: PTI Mumbai: Thousands of Tibetans and Nepalis settled in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra are worried stiff about their relatives, friends and other citizens in their native countries hit by the devastating avalanche and floods in the Himalayan region. An estimated 1000 Tibetans and more than four-lakhs Nepalis live in Maharashtra and...

Tibetans, Nepalis worry, pray for kin

Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi students during a candle prayer vigil in Chennai on Friday for the victims and survivors of the flash floods in Nepal. Pic: PTI Mumbai: Thousands of Tibetans and Nepalis settled in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra are worried stiff about their relatives, friends and other citizens in their native countries hit by the devastating avalanche and floods in the Himalayan region. An estimated 1000 Tibetans and more than four-lakhs Nepalis live in Maharashtra and Mumbai engaged in various professions or academics. Friends of Tibet (FoT) Coordinator Tenzin Tsundue and United Nepali Organisation (UNO) Advisor Bharat Rawal are liaising with the Indian, Nepal and Tibetan authorities for information sought by their respective members. The Tibetans are particularly anxious as communication lines are still not restored or restricted by the local authorities, making contacts with families difficult, said Tsundue. “Though details are sketchy and blocked by the Chinese authorities, there is a suspicion that at least 14 small-to-medium hydro-power plants, including 5 under construction, on the rivers in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot areas, along with dams, diversion structures and cofferdams could have played a role in triggering or aggravating the situation,” Tsundue told ‘The Perfect Voice’. He claimed that in and around the Kyirong County – the lowest and greenest in Tibet’s southern region, where the avalanche and floods originated on Wednesday - “at least 400-500 are feared missing” although the official figures by China are different. “As per current information available, evidence points to the initial floods being generated upstream in Tibet, rather than the Nepal hydropower stations,” added Tsundue. Rawal said that so far one member from Thane, Santosh Niraula has confirmed that his niece, Richa Niraula, working as an engineer in the Upper Trishuli – one of the worst-hit regions – is missing and he has rushed there to join the search and rescue operations. “Following a request from Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Nepal’s dynamic GenZ leader and Rashtriya Swatantra Party MP, K. P. Khanal, 26, immediately helped in tracing, rescuing and arranging for the return of at least 37 pilgrims from Maharashtra stuck in the floods on the Tibet-Nepal borders,” Rawal told ‘The Perfect Voice’. No Information A Nepali eatery co-owner in Malad Geeta Rana said that her entire family of Ranas is stuck in Chitwan, a tourism haven, with little or no information reaching Mumbai as communication and power lines are affected, and there are reports of other Nepalis facing a similar ordeal in different parts of their homeland, especially in Dhading and Nuwakot districts. 290 tourists from Maharashtra stranded but safe Mumbai: As many as 290 people from Maharashtra are stranded but confirmed safe in various parts of Nepal following the devastating flash floods while 60 tourists are still untraceable, a state government official said on Friday. Further, 105 people from Maharashtra who were in Nepal at the time of the tragedy are on their way back to India, said the State Disaster Management Department official. Sixty people from the state who were on a Nepal tour organised by Mumbai-based Richa Tours Pvt Ltd could not be contacted, he said. “So far, 395 people from Maharashtra have been confirmed to be stuck in Nepal. Of these, 105 are on their way back to India, while our control room has established contact with the remaining 290 people, who are safe but stranded in various parts of Nepal,” he added. As many as 37 pilgrims who were stranded in Tibet after completing the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra left for Kathmandu on Friday morning following Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s intervention. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the group, which includes pilgrims from Thane, Pune, Raigad, Alibag, and Dombivli, left Saga in Tibet around 6 am via the Nyalam check-post and is travelling towards the Nepalese capital. Their return flight from Kathmandu is scheduled for 2 pm on August 29, the CMO statement said.

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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