India International Seafood Show concludes in Kolkata

Tags: State News

Asia's biggest seafood show, India International Seafood concluded in Kolkata on 17 February.

An overview of the news

• The three-day event, organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India, began on February 15.

• It held a buyer-seller meet with special focus on G20 countries.

• The program was inaugurated by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel.

• India has set a target of $14 billion in marine products exports by 2025 and efforts are on to achieve the target.

• About five thousand delegates from India and other countries participated in this event.

• The government announced a new sub-scheme named Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samriddhi Saha-Yojana in the Union Budget 2023 and allocated six thousand crore rupees.

Importance of fisheries sector of India

• Fishing is one of the fastest growing primary producing sectors.

• India is the second major producer of fish through aquaculture in the world.

• India is the fourth largest exporter of fish in the world as it contributes to 7.7% of the global fish production.

• Presently this sector provides livelihood to more than 28 crore people within the country.

Blue revolution

• The Centrally Sponsored Scheme "Blue Revolution" was launched in the year 2016 for the integrated development and management of fisheries.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

• Sanctioned in 2020, it is a flagship scheme for the focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country.

• It seeks to provide direct employment to 15 lakh fishermen etc. which is almost three times this number in the form of indirect employment opportunities.

• It aims to double the income of fishermen and fish workers by the year 2024.

• Under this scheme, it has been envisaged to create 68 lakh jobs by the end of the year 2024-25.