{"id":57781,"date":"2025-10-28T21:14:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=57781"},"modified":"2025-10-29T12:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T06:46:21","slug":"great-nicobar-project-to-boost-indias-maritime-global-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-10-2025\/great-nicobar-project-to-boost-indias-maritime-global-trade","title":{"rendered":"Great Nicobar Project to Boost India\u2019s Maritime Global Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Infrastructure\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai, the Union Home Minister announced the <strong>Great Nicobar Project<\/strong> will play a transformative role in enhancing India\u2019s maritime global trade and shipbuilding capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Maritime Strength<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s coastline spans over <strong>11,500 km<\/strong> across <strong>13 coastal states<\/strong>, providing a strong base for maritime trade.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maritime activities contribute nearly <strong>60%<\/strong> of India\u2019s GDP, reflecting their strategic and economic importance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The government aims to <strong>expand port-handling capacity<\/strong> from the current <strong>2,700 <\/strong>million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to <strong>10,000 MTPA<\/strong> through new mega port projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Great Nicobar project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Project involves developing an <strong>International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT)<\/strong>, an international airport, township development, and a<strong> 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant <\/strong>on the island.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The ICTT is expected to allow Great Nicobar to <strong>participate in the regional and global maritime economy<\/strong> by becoming a major player in cargo transshipment.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A proposed \u201c<strong>greenfield city<\/strong>\u201d will tap into both the maritime and tourism potential of the island.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The site for the proposed ICTT and power plant is <strong>Galathea Bay<\/strong> on the southeastern corner of Great Nicobar Island, where there is no human habitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns over the project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ecological Impact: <\/strong>The project threatens old-growth forests, which are the only habitat for<strong> ~24%<\/strong> of the island\u2019s species.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal and Procedural Issues:<\/strong> The Environmental Appraisal Committee allegedly ignored anthropological and ecological objections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Viability Concerns:<\/strong> Experts questioned the economic feasibility of the project, given the high costs and ecological sensitivity of the region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indigenous Rights Violation: <\/strong>The project allegedly violates the rights of the <strong>Shompen<\/strong>, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of hunter-gatherers. The disruption of their traditional lands and lifestyle raises human rights concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Volatile Zone:<\/strong> The proposed port is situated in a seismically active zone that experienced a significant geological event during the 2004 tsunami, leading to concerns about the safety and long-term stability of the infrastructure in such a location.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transparency Issues:<\/strong> Multiple requests for detailed project information were denied under <strong>Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act<\/strong>, citing reasons of sovereignty, integrity, and security of the nation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Andaman and Nicobar Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Location:<\/strong> The islands are located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.<br>1. It extends from 6\u00b0 45\u2032 N to 13\u00b0 41\u2032 N and from 92\u00b0 12\u2032 E to 93\u00b0 57\u2032 E.<br>&#8211; This archipelago is composed of more than 500 big and small islands, which are divided into two distinct groups of islands \u2013 <strong>The Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands.<\/strong><br>1. <strong>\u2018Ten Degree Channel\u2019<\/strong> separates the Andaman Islands in the north from the Nicobar Islands in the south.<br><strong>The Andaman Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; These islands are divided into three major sub-groups \u2013<strong> North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman.<\/strong><br>&#8211; The capital city of the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands <strong>Port Blair<\/strong> is located in <strong>South Andaman.<\/strong><br><strong>The Nicobar Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; These islands are divided into three major sub-groups \u2013 <strong>Northern Group, Central Group, and Southern Group.<\/strong><br>1. The Great Nicobar is the largest and the southernmost island in the group located in the Southern Group.<br>2. India\u2019s southernmost point <strong>\u2018Indira Point\u2019<\/strong> is located at the southern tip of the Great Nicobar.<br><strong>Other Features<\/strong><br>&#8211; Most of these islands have a volcanic base and are made of tertiary sandstone, limestone, and shale.<br>1. <strong>The Barren and Narcondam islands<\/strong>, north of Port Blair, are volcanic islands.<br>2. Some of the islands are fringed with coral reefs.<br>&#8211; <strong>Saddle Peak (737 m)<\/strong> in North Andaman is the highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<br>&#8211; The names of the following three islands were changed in 2018:<br>1. Ross Island \u2013 renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep<br>2. Neil Island \u2013 renamed as Shaheed Dweep<br>3. Havelock Island \u2013 renamed as Swaraj Dweep<br><br><img data-dominant-color=\"afd5d6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"683\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-57805\" style=\"--dominant-color: #afd5d6; width: 450px;\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Andaman-and-Nicobar-Islands-pic.png\" alt=\"Andaman and Nicobar Islands\n\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Andaman-and-Nicobar-Islands-pic.png 320w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Andaman-and-Nicobar-Islands-pic-198x300.png 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/great-nicobar-project-will-boost-indias-maritime-global-trade-says-amit-shah\/article70209108.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">At the India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai, the Union Home Minister announced the Great Nicobar Project will play a transformative role in enhancing India\u2019s maritime global trade and shipbuilding capacity.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Maritime Strength<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India\u2019s coastline spans over 11,500 km across 13 coastal states, providing a strong base for maritime trade.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Maritime activities contribute nearly 60% of India\u2019s GDP, reflecting their strategic and economic importance.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The government aims to expand port-handling capacity from the current 2,700 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 10,000 MTPA through new mega port projects.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-10-2025\/great-nicobar-project-to-boost-indias-maritime-global-trade\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":57784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/great-nicobar-project-maritime-trade.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57807,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57781\/revisions\/57807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}