The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) organized the fifth edition of the annual shipping event with the help and participation of senior representatives from Government, Industry leaders, Policymakers, Researchers, and all Shipping stakeholders. The focus was on, “Maritime Infrastructure Developments in East and North East India”. The objective was to understand the present status of Maritime Infrastructure in East and North East India and project a growth plan for its Economic development. The deliberations in this conclave also provided directions for the way ahead in increasing domestic and international trade in East and North East India.

Capt S B Mazumder, Chairperson, Shipping Committee, BCC&I welcomed the inaugural speakers on the dais and Mr Ambarish Dasgupta, Immediate Past President, BCC&I delivered the Welcome Speech at the Inaugural Session. The other eminent speakers present on the dais were Shri Pravir Pandey, IA & AS, Vice – Chairman & Project Director - Jal Marg Vikas, (IWAI), Ministry of Shipping, Government of India; Shri S Balaji Arunkumar, IRTS, Deputy Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India; Shri S Nishat Ali, IRTS, Group General Manager, Business Development Division, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL); Shri Shakti Sinha, IAS (Retd), Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library & Chairman, Policy Research Group, Bureau of Research on Industry & Economic Fundamentals (B.R.I.E.F) and Mr Mahboob Ahmed, Managing Director, M/s River Line Logistics & Transport Ltd, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The other key speakers at the seminar were Mr Vikram Nahar, Associate Director,CRISIL Ratings; Mr. Rahul Saikia, Head - Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd (PWC); Shri Bharat Bushan Dev Choudhury, Director, Inland Water Transportation (IWT), Government of Assam; Mr. Tamal Roy, President, Business Development & Corporate Strategy, J M Baxi Group (he was the Session Chairperson of Technical Session II); Mr. Amar Nath Dhar, General Manager & Regional Head, Corporate Accounts Group Branch, State Bank of India (SBI); Mr S Varadarajan, Chief Executive Officer, Shreyas Relay Systems Limited, (a member of Transworld Group); Mr Ganesh Prasad Bagree, Sr Vice President, Infrastructure Project Finance, Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited and Mr Kaustubh Mankad, Managing Director, Mankad & Associates.

Overall, the seminar brought together port users, trade representatives, barge operators/owners/manufacturers, coastal vessel operators/manufacturers/owners, industry representatives, experts, policy makers, researchers and academicians.

The full-day Conclave was an eye-opener for those in the Exim and Domestic Manufacturing Industries, Shipping and Logistics Players, Supply Chain Companies, Barge Operators and Manufacturers, Real Estate Developers, etc as they had a clear understanding of the present and future status of Maritime Infrastructure in the Eastern and North Eastern regions of India.

The Conclave also provided a way forward for furthering developments in Maritime Infrastructure in East and North East India, which in turn would help in the development and growth of maritime trade in the near future.