The 9th International Samudra Manthan Awards 2022 organized by Bhandarkar Publications was held at Domestic Cruise Terminal in Mumbai to honoured excellence in Maritime and to acknowledge the policies introduced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Ports Shopping & Waterways.

Shri Rahul Narvekar Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly  was present as the Chief Guest along with eminent Indian music director & flautist Padma Vibhushan Shri Hari Prasad Chaurasiya as special guest,  Shri Rajiv Jalota, IAS as guest of honour along with other dignitaries such Maharashtra Loka Upayukta Shri Sanjay Bhatia, IAS (Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of India Capt. B.K.Tyagi.

Adv. Shri Rahul Narvekar, the Speaker of the Maharshtra Legislative Assembly said that it was his pleasure to be present at the event and to be among the august gathering for the 9th International Samudra Manthan Awards 2022. Adv Narwekar added that the venue chosen was significant as the Domestic Cruise Terminal also was a piece of land which has witnessed history in the Maritime industry. The awards he said were conceptualised to recognise the contribution and the efforts made by the awardees for the development and progress of Maritime industry in India and around the world. He went on to congratulate Shri Sanjay Bhatia who was also the ex-Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, for conceptualising the Eastern Water-front and Shri Jalota’s continuous effort of maintaining the ideas proposed by Shri Bhatia. Thanks to these two, Shri Narwekar said this has not only contributed to the development of the Maritime sector but also optimised the use of the seafront in the city of Mumbai.

Shri Rahul Narwekar  further said “These efforts symbolize the contribution done by the industry to the nation at large. Every evolved and progressive economy needs to have a suitable, compatible and adaptable infrastructure. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi our country marches ahead to become the fifth largest economy in the world and this couldn’t have been achieved without the significant contribution of the maritime sector.

Therefore we as Indians and policy makers are extremely proud of our seafarers mainly with regards to decreasing the trade deficit and to improving the fiscal imbalance of the economy. The Maritime industry plays a pivotal role in achieving these targets. In the changing global scenario, the Indian Maritime industry has a larger role to play. With the political issues that we see around the world, I think the Indian Maritime Industry is going to step in to provide a logistical solution to a lot of deadlocks that we see around the world. I think our foreign policy, our diplomacy has given an optimal scope to Indian maritime industry to provide end-to-end solutions to not only one continent but all the continents around the world.”

Having said that the youngest politician to occupy the Speaker’s chair across India, Shri Narvekar conveyed his best wishes to the Maritime sector and congratulated the awardees and assured them the best and continued support from the Maharashtra  legislature for the Maritime industry so that the best possible legislation is debated and passed so as to benefit the Shipping Sector to perform at local, national and global levels.

The evening culminated into a scintillating awards nite where the best in the industry were given awards im various categories.

With relentless efforts of Capt. Vivek Bhandarkar CEO, Warden CMMI, MAPS & Ashish Pednekar Chairman MACCIA Trust Board. MD, GVP Forwarders Private Limited, the 9th International Samudra Manthan was a great success.

Marex Media