Lok Sabha Question No. 3011 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-22
Subject: Blue Economy
Ministry: FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
Asked by: M. K. Raghavan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3011 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 ND  MARCH, 2022

## Blue Economy

## 3011.  SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN:

## Will  the  Minister  of FISHERIES,  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY  AND  DAIRYING मत्स्यपालन, पशुपालन और डेयरी मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  entered  into  any  agreements  with  foreign  governments regarding Blue economy, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether such agreements will pave way for flooding of processed fishery products in Indian market, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  such  agreements  will  eventually  pave  way  for  exploitation  of  our  marine wealth, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  any  schemes  to  provide  for  fuel  and  other  subsidies  to Indian fishermen, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)          whether  the  Government  is  into  negotiating  table  regarding  agreement  on  fisheries  at World Trade Organization; and
- (f) if  so,  the details of the possible impacts on our fishery sector as a result of signing of this agreement ?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING

## (SHRI PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)

(a):  The  Memoranda  of  Understanding  (MoUs)  have  been  signed  between  India  and  other countries namely, Norway, Bangladesh, Iceland, Indonesia, Morocco and Vietnam to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of Fisheries. Besides, India is also party to various multilateral agreements and arrangements including Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Bay of Bengal Programme InterGovernmental Organization (BoBP-IGO), etc. to strengthen Blue economy by way of trade and export promotion, socio-economic developments  and technical cooperation in various sectors including sustainable exploitation of marine wealth.

(b) & (c): Does not arise.

(d):  The  Department  of  Fisheries,  Ministry  of  Fisheries,  Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying  is implementing  a  flagship  scheme  Pradhan  Mantri  Matsya  Sampada  Yojana  (PMMSY)-  A scheme  to  bring  about  Blue  Revolution  through  sustainable  and  responsible  development  of fisheries sector in India with highest ever investment of Rs.20,050 Crores in the fisheries sector, for  implementation over a period of  five  years  from financial  year 2020-21 to  financial  year 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories. The PMMSY inter-alia provides financial support for acquisition  technologically  advanced  fishing  vessels,  deep  sea  fishing  vessels  for  traditional fishermen, fishing boats and nets for traditional fishermen, providing safety  kits for fishermen of  traditional  and  motorized  fishing  vessels,  communication  and/or  tracking  devices  for traditional  and  motorized  vessels  and  infrastructure  facilities  for  Monitoring,  Control  and Surveillance, etc. The Government of India, in 2018-19, has also extended the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers to help them and to meet their working capital needs. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) has been created at a total outlay of Rs. 7522 Crores to provide concessional finance to Eligible Entities  (EEs).  Besides,  the  concerned  coastal  State  Governments/UTs are  also  providing  tax rebate for fuel and other subsidies to Indian fishermen.

(e)  &  (f):    In  the  ongoing  negotiations  on  fisheries  subsidies  in  World  Trade  Organization (WTO), the member countries including India are participating as per the mandate of the United Nations  Sustainable  Development  Goals  (UN-SDG)  target  14.6  and  the  WTO  Ministerial Conference Decision of 2017(MC-11). The scope of ongoing negotiations is limited to marine capture  fisheries.  Aquaculture  and  inland  fisheries  are  excluded  from  the  scope  of  WTO Regulation  on  Fisheries  subsidies.  For  securing  livelihood  of  our  traditional  and  small-scale fishermen,  India is  advocating for appropriate and effective special and differential treatment (S&DT)  for  the  developing  countries  including  least  developed  countries  (LDCs)  and  has sought policy space to develop and modernize its fisheries sector.

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