Consider the following statements with reference to the Sagarmala Programme of the Government of India:

Question

Consider the following statements with reference to the Sagarmala Programme of the Government of India:

I. The Sagarmala Programme seeks to achieve port-led economic growth through cost-effective and sustainable coastal infrastructure.

II. The success of the Sagarmala Programme is reflected in significant growth in coastal and inland waterway shipping, along with improved global port rankings.

III. Sagarmala 2.0 aims to position India as a global maritime innovation hub aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047 visions.

Which of the following relationships among the above statements is/are correct?

1. Statement II validates the effectiveness of the strategies envisioned in statement I.

2. Statement III extends the objectives of statement I by embedding them into a future-oriented innovation framework.

3. Statement I contradicts statement III by focusing only on traditional infrastructure instead of modern innovation.

1. A. 1 only
2. B. 1 and 2 (Correct answer)
3. C. 2 and 3
4. D. 3 only

Correct Answer

Option B — B

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Option B.

Key Points

• relationships 1 and 2 only.
• This is a statement-relationship question: you are not judging whether I, II and III are individually true, but whether the stated relationships between them hold.
• Relationship 1 is correct: Statement II (measurable growth in coastal and inland waterway shipping, plus improved global port rankings) reports outcomes, and those outcomes validate the port-led growth strategy set out in Statement I. Evidence supporting a strategy is a valid validating relationship.
• Relationship 2 is correct: Statement III (Sagarmala 2.0 positioning India as a global maritime innovation hub, aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047) extends Statement I's objectives forward in time by embedding them in an innovation-and-future-readiness framework.
• Relationship 3 is incorrect: Statement I does not contradict Statement III.
• Cost-effective, sustainable coastal infrastructure and a maritime innovation hub are complementary, not opposed — Sagarmala 2.0 builds on the original infrastructure mandate rather than replacing it.
• About the programme: Sagarmala was launched in 2015 under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to promote port-led development across four pillars — port modernisation, port connectivity, port-linked industrialisation and coastal community development.