Dhruv Kotak at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2024- The Week

The last 10 years have set a massive stage for India to move from still playing catch-up to being champions in the private sector, said Dhruv Kotak, group managing director, JM Baxi, at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2024 in Chennai today.

“We are seeing a huge opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs not just in the infrastructure space or the maritime or the asset heavy space, but across the board,” he said.

Kotak asserted that there is no dearth of opportunity, be it port development, port-based industrialisation, ship building, terminals, or green transition. “The opportunity is set in terms of what is going to happen in artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. There will be huge opportunities in services, technology, and AI application.

From a global perspective, Kotak said that three global cues are closely monitored. “Number one is the energy transition. We are looking at more and more electrification of fleets, trucks, tugs. You are going to look at alternative fuels. Countries need to be equipped in terms of hydrogen, green ammonia, different fuel sources for our ships.

Riyad Mathew, chief associate editor & director of THE WEEK, presents the memento to Dhruv Kotak, at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2024 in Chennai | Sanjoy Ghosh

“The second one… a global trend which is moving ahead in rapid space is the AI boom. A lot of us in the maritime industry are actively involved in different processes that create a lot of jobs, sustain a lot of jobs, and sustain our industry.”

The third one, Kotak said, is the environment. “India is beautifully placed, as we continue to be very much non-aligned. We are in a phenomenal opportunity where large parts of the western world are looking for alternatives to the Chinese supply chain.

“I think we have to make sure that we are positioned within our own country in right places, so that we can provide supply chain solutions when India starts creating this alternative,” he said.

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