Cabinet okays ₹7,522 crore fund to boost marine, inland fisheries sectors

The fund would help achieve 15 million tonnes of fish production by 2020, a target set under the Blue Revolution scheme, and help generate over 940,000 employment opportunities, a government release said.

The Union cabinet on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the creation of a ₹7,552-crore fund to boost infrastructure facilities in the marine and inland fisheries sector and also approved the setting up of six Indian Institutes of Skills (IISs) in different parts of the country.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad addresses a press conference during a cabinet briefing, in New Delhi on October 24. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Law minister Ravi Shankar, while addressing a press conference here, said beneficiaries’ contributions and budgetary support would be used for the formation of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF). The FIDF would help achieve 15 million tonnes of fish production by 2020, a target set under the Blue Revolution scheme, and help generate over 940,000 employment opportunities, said a statement issued by the Centre.

The cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also decided to set up six IISs in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Prasad, who addressed the media with finance minister Arun Jaitley, said.

In the official statement, the government said by leveraging advantages of private sector enterprises and public capital in terms of government land, it would create new institutes of expertise, knowledge and competitiveness.

The cabinet also approved the constitution of a high level steering committee to periodically review and refine the National Indicator Framework (NIF) for monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with associated targets, Prasad said.