As part of its plan to develop ports and boost maritime trade, GOI would develop three major ports in the country in 2016. GOI will start three new major ports. One is at Colachel in Tamil Nadu, the second at Sagar in West Bengal and third at Dahanur, Wadhwad in Maharashtra. The announcement was made by Union Minister Nitin Gadgari at the second convocation of Indian Maritime University. The Road Transport and Highways minister said the plan to set up new ports would definitely add to the economic growth.

Gadkari said India presently has 12 major ports and 200 non major ports. He said government has set a target of increasing cargo volume from 972 million tonnes to 2,500 billion tonnes by 2025. GOI is also planning to develop 1,300 islands in India and 280 light houses to tourism spots.

Gadkari said it was really unfortunate that the inland waterways sector, which is the most important game changer has been neglected. GOI has decided to develop five waterways — river Ganga, Brahmaputra, Buckingham canal (in Chennai), Kerala Backwaters and Mahanadhi river in Odisha. Recently Lok Sabha has passed the bill to convert 111 rivers into waterways.

• Cargo means goods carried on a ship, aircraft, or motor vehicle.
• Neglect means fail to care for properly.
• Game Changer means an event, idea, or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current way of doing