WATERWAYS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• Inland Waterways: There are not a lot of waterways to talk about, despite a huge (but empty) inland waterways office in Delhi.

During the tenure of the last government (1999-2004), a scheme called the ‘National River Linking Project’ was conceived. This was a Rs 560,000 Crore ($125bn) project intended to create navigable connections across the entire Indian republic, with plans to extend it to Bangladesh and Pakistan. It was also supposed to put an end to the drought-flood cycle that has plagued the region for centuries by transferring and storing surplus water during the monsoon season.

At one point it was proposed that about 20bn tonnes of goods should be transported by inland waterways. But today the scheme appears to be shelved, though £70bn spent over 15 years is not an unmanageable amount of money.

The National River Linking Project should now be revived. It will create large amounts pf work for canal building and river dredging and steel utilisation in the shape of barges and inland craft.

• Waterways (Shipping): India still buys the majority of vessels from abroad. There are a few shipbuilding yards but not enough to meet the country’s demand.

Since 2003, the existing civil shipbuilding industry has experienced problems due to large-scale military requirements. The Indian Navy wishes to increase its fleet by 50%; the keel for India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier was recently laid.

Therefore, many of the big and medium yards are busy with naval work, while cargo carriers etc. are being neglected. There are few dry docks available even for repair work.

• Airways: The Indian air transport industry has exploded thanks to the higher earning power of the middle class and various incentives offered to private enterprises.

Many ‘No Frills’ airlines have broken into the domestic market, while older more established ones, both public and private, are expanding their fleets. In 2005, India placed orders for 300 large to medium aircraft, shared between Europe’s Airbus and Boeing of the USA.

Aeronautical engineering has been taught at Indian universities for the last 50 years, and India has a sophisticated rocket and missile industry, not to mention military jet designers such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Yet there is no in-country facility for building civil aircraft. India cannot construct even small to medium aircraft, say 20 to 70 seaters for regional routes.

A firm such as Bombardier Inc of Canada, for example, which constructs both regional aircraft and advanced railway coaches could find rich pickings in India: sponsored by aluminium producers, airlines and public-sector railways it could open both kinds of factories.