Five-Year Plan Related To Blue Revolution

After India attained independence, the uprising democracy came up with a five-year plan to improve the country’s economic and social position. The Five Year Plan in India brought many changes and amendments to the country, and many revolutions took place. One of them is “The Blue Revolution”.

What is Blue Revolution?

The Blue Revolution was first launched during the seventh five-year plan in India and was introduced as the “Nili Kranti Mission” or “Neel Kranti Mission”. The main agenda of the blue revolution was to increase the production of fisheries and productivity from aquaculture resources, both marine, and inland.

The blue revolution was committed to creating an environment for holistic development of the country’s fisheries and increasing fishers’ income while maintaining environmental sustainability and bio-security.

Objectives of the Blue Revolution:

The Revolution had specific pre-headed objectives and things that it was supposed to amend, and they were as follows:

1) To increase the overall production of fish in an efficient and sustainable manner.
2) To introduce new technology and modernise the industry.
3) To ensure nutritional and food security in the nation.
4) To procure export earnings and employ the unemployed.
5) To empower fishers and aquaculture farmers.

Blue Revolution In India:

Many Revolutions like the white revolution, Golden Revolution, etc. were introduced in various other five-year plans; the Nili Kranti Mission in India was as follows:

1) Blue Revolution was first introduced in China, where fishing is an ancient activity and accounts for two-thirds of total aquaculture production worldwide. 
2) In India, the Blue Revolution was launched during the seventh five-year plan that went from 1985 to 1990, during which the government-funded the FFDA(Fish Farmers Development Agency)
3) Gradually, more fishing harbours got established in places like Port Blair, Tuticorin, Porbandar, and Kochi.
4) Many research centers have been set up to make improvements in species and contribute toward more production.

Outcomes of the Blue Revolution:

Blue Revolution, while having to face certain downsides, had many good outcomes too, which were as follows:

1) The FFDA (Fish Farmers Development Agency) adopted new fish breeding, rearing, marketing, and export techniques to bring improvement in aquaculture.
2) 50 years ago, the Indian Fisheries sector produced around 60,000 tonnes of fish, which boosted to 4.7 million tonnes.
3) India recorded an average annual growth of 14.8% in fish production in the decade compared to the global average of 7.5% in that same period.
4) The aquaculture products and fisheries amount to around 1% of India’s GDP and 5% of agricultural GDP.
5) Fishing is the primary source of income for several communities in India, the second-largest producer of fish globally, with exports of more than Rs 47,000 million.

Challenges Faced by Blue Revolution:

Before the commencement of the Blue Revolution, the fishing industry had a myriad of issues, including the following:

• Fixed stocks of seeds and medicines were accessible.
• stagnation in marine fisheries development
• ownership restrictions on the aquatic bodies
• decreased quality of the resources used
• Fish poaching is forbidden.

Recent Steps Taken By the Government on Blue Revolution:

Blue Revolution 2.0 aims to better fisheries through better management and development in the correct terms. This includes inland fisheries, marine fisheries, mariculture and all the activities undertaken by NFDB (National Fisheries Development Board).

It also has specific objectives, which are as follows:

1. Taking in the country’s full potential in fisheries and tripling the produce by 2020.
2. Transforming the sector by modernising the approach and introducing new technologies to help the anglers increase output.
3. Double the income of fishers and aquaculture companies, increasing productivity and improving post-harvest marketing infrastructure, including e-commerce, other technologies, and the world’s best innovations.
4. We are ensuring active and inclusive participation of the anglers in the income enhancement and working towards attaining national food security and nutritional security.

Conclusion:

The Blue Revolution, or the Nili Kranti Mission, launched in the 7th five-year plan by the government of India, was a massive step that made India the second-largest fisheries producer. The revolution aimed at the integral and holistic development of fishers and aquaculture farmers and increased the income of the people involved in the sector. The process was necessary to modernise the industry and attain nutritional and food security.

India’s long coastline has the potential to become the nation’s strength, mainly because of the blue revolution; the country can grow to the high of ten trillion dollars economy against 2.7 trillion dollars as of now with the help of the blue economy.