While India aims to expand its blue economy to $131 billion by 2025, only 5.9% of the Sagarmala programme’s budget is allocated to coastal community development and environmental protection, and this disparity is particularly alarming given the 26% increase in high-intensity cyclones in the region over the past four decades, said National Maritime Foundation (Delhi) expert Deepannita Kundu here on Friday at GITAM Deemed to be University.
She participated in international conference on “The Indo-Pacific in an Era of Changing Power Dynamics: Economic Integration and Security,” jointly organised by the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi), the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, and GITAM School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
She said that the future resilience and prosperity of the Bay of Bengal’s blue economy hinge on today’s policy choices, emphasising the need for a more balanced, cooperative, and ecosystem-centric approach to maritime development. She said that a climate resilience index for coastal infrastructure projects is needed to provide a tool for policymakers to assess and prioritise investments and also present case studies of successful integration of economic development and environmental conservation in coastal areas.
TAIPEI Economic and Cultural Centre in India Deputy Representative Robert Hsieh Bor-Huei, JNU Centre for East Asian Studies experts Titli Basu, Aravind Yelery, University of Hyderabad Prof. P.K. Anamika, GITAM Economics Prof. Mandar V. Kulkarni, Prof. S.Sushma Raj and others participated in the programme.
The experts mentioned that the Indo-Pacific region is home to over 4 billion people and accounting for nearly 70% of the world’s economy and it has become a crucial centre of global influence and economic activity.
Published – October 25, 2024 07:40 pm IST
