Hence, it is the opportune time to simultaneously develop the Maritime Infrastructure in this region. Shipping is a major contributor to India’s Economy. Our Ports need to regularly upgrade their infrastructure for increased efficiency, reduction in costs and vessel turnaround time. 

Connectivity to the East and North East India is not only by Roads, but also through Inland Waterways via National Waterway One (NW – 1), National Waterway Two (NW – 2) and National Waterway Six (NW -6) which is connecting the North East with rest of India via Bangladesh.
 
In line with the above developments, the Shipping Committee of BCC&I is organizing a full day Seminar on “Maritime Infrastructure Developments in East and North East India” on Friday at 10.00 a.m. at Williamson Magor Hall, BCC&I (6, Netaji Subhas Road, Kolkata: 700001). 

The seminar will highlight the present Maritime Infrastructure in this region and what needs to be further developed for growth of the maritime trade in the country, especially in East and North East India. 
 
Against this backdrop, the Shipping Committee of BCC&I is organizing its annual event for the year 2015-16 titled Seminar on “Transloading – The Future of Bulk Cargo Handling in India" on Friday, 18th September 2015 at 10.00 a.m. at Williamson Magor Hall, BCC&I (6, Netaji Subhas Road, Kolkata – 700001) to deliberate on the importance of Transloading operations in India, especially at Sandheads and Konica Sands and its impact on the economic development of our country. 
 
The objective of organizing this conclave is to understand the present status of Maritime Infrastructure in East and North East India and project a growth plan for its Economic development. 

Besides, the other key speakers who would address the abovementioned conference are S Nishat Ali, IRTS, Group General Manager, Business Development Division, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), S Balaji Arunkumar, IRTS,  Deputy Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India,  Pravir Pandey, IA & AS, Vice – Chairman & Project Director  - Jal Marg Vikas ,Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI),Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, Shakti Sinha, IAS (Retd), Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and  Library &Chairman, Policy Research Group, Bureau of Research on Industry & Economic Fundamentals (B.R.I.E.F), Mahboob Ahmed, Managing Director, M/s River Line Logistics & Transport  Ltd, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tamal Roy, President, Business Development & Corporate Strategy, J M  Baxi Group,  Rahul Saikia, Head - Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd (PWC),  Amar Nath Dhar, General Manager & Regional Head, Corporate Accounts Group Branch, State Bank of India (SBI), Bharat Bushan Dev Choudhury, Director, Inland Water Transportation (IWT), Government of Assam,  Vikram Nahar, Associate Director, CRISIL Ratings,  Ganesh Prasad Bagree, Sr Vice President, Infrastructure Project Finance,Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited,  Kaustubh Mankad, Managing Director, Mankad & Associates and S Varadarajan, Chief Executive Officer,  Shreyas Relay Systems Limited, Shreyas Shipping & Logistics Limited( a member of Transworld Group).
 
The conclave would be an eye-opener for those in the Exim and Domestic Manufacturing Industries, Shipping and Logistics Players, Supply Chain Companies, Barge Operators and Manufacturers, Real Estate Developers, etc as they would have a clear understanding of the present and future status of Maritime Infrastructure in the Eastern and North Eastern regions of India.
  
The conclave will also provide a Way forward for furthering developments of the Maritime Infrastructure in the East and North East India, which in turn would help in the development and growth of maritime trade in the near future.