Knowledge Nugget: Why is Great Nicobar Island Project important for UPSC exam?

Key Takeaways:

1. The Great Nicobar Island (GNI) infrastructure project was conceived by NITI Aayog and launched in 2021. According to the andaman.gov.in, the key plans include the construction of the “International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), a greenfield international airport with a peak hour capacity to handle 4,000 passengers, a township, and a gas and solar-based power plant spread across 16,610 hectares.”

2. The project is being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO). It aligns with India’s Maritime Vision 2030 and is one of the key projects under the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. It also gives an opportunity to leverage the strategic location of the island, which is roughly equidistant from Colombo in Sri Lanka to the southwest and Port Klang (Malaysia) and Singapore to the southeast.

3. The infrastructure development on the island has been slow-paced. The distance from the mainland, complex procedures for obtaining environmental clearances, and significant coordination challenges among ministries, departments, and agencies have acted as hurdles in the development. Through this development project, the government aims to address these problems.

Geographical Location

Andaman and Nicobar islands: Vantage location in Bay of Bengal

1. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a cluster of 836 islands, split into two groups — the Andaman Islands to the north and the Nicobar Islands to the south — by the 150-km wide Ten Degree Channel.

2. Great Nicobar is the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands, a sparsely inhabited 910-sq-km patch of mainly tropical rainforest in the southeastern Bay of Bengal. Indira Point on the island, India’s southernmost point, is only 90 nautical miles (less than 170 km) from Sabang at the northern tip of Sumatra, the largest island of the Indonesian archipelago.

3. Great Nicobar has two national parks, a biosphere reserve, small populations of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribal peoples, and a few thousand non-tribal settlers.

Strategic importance

1. It is close to the Malacca Strait, the main waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, and the ICTT is expected to “allow Great Nicobar to participate in the regional and global maritime economy by becoming a major player in cargo transshipment’’. A proposed “greenfield city” will tap into both the maritime and tourism potential of the island.

2. Sabang in Indonesia is 90 nautical miles southeast of Indira Point (on Great Nicobar island), and Coco Island (Myanmar) is barely 18 nautical miles from the northernmost tip of the Andamans. Should Thailand build the Kra Canal connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea, its mouth would be about 350 nautical miles east of Port Blair.

3. In the foreseeable future, a serious challenge could emanate from a build-up of Chinese maritime forces at the eastern choke points of the Indo-Pacific. The A&N Islands should be the first line of offence against any attempt from the East to undermine India’s maritime security.

4. Andaman and Nicobar Islands share four of India’s international maritime zone delimitations with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. They also give India substantial ocean space under the United Nations Conference on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) in terms of exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)

1. The proposed infra upgrade has been opposed on grounds of the threat it poses to the ecology of the islands. The opposition has focused on the potentially devastating impact on the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) and the Nicobarese, who sustain themselves through horticulture, pig-rearing, hunting, and foraging.

2. PVTGs are a sub-classification of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) or a section of STs who are considered more vulnerable than regular STs. The PVTG list was created by the government with the aim to improve on priority the living standards of endangered tribal groups.

3. PVTGs are severely marginalised due to their isolation, low population, and distinct socio-economic and cultural traits. They struggle with limited access to basic services, social discrimination, and vulnerability to displacement from development and natural disasters. They have little political representation, hindering their participation in decision-making.

(Source: Explained: Legal challenges to the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, Strategic imperative and environment concern in Great Nicobar project, Why Andaman and Nicobar Islands are key to Indo-Pacific security

Post read question

Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’? (UPSC CSE 2014)

(a) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(b) Nicobar and Sumatra

(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep

(d) Sumatra and Java

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