- At the third meeting of the Island Development Agency (IDA) in Delhi on April 24, 2018, it was decided to relax the Restricted Area Permit regime in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep for tourism promotion.
- The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, chaired the third meeting of the Island Development Agency (IDA).
- The Island Development Agency reviewed the progress made towards preparation of Development Plans for identified Islands (four in A&N Islands i.e. Smith, Ross, Long, Avis and five in Lakshadweep i.e. Minicoy, Bangaram, Thinnakara, Cheriyam, Suheli). For these Islands, Final Site Suitability Reports have been prepared, Carrying Capacity determined and Environmental zoning carried out to ensure sustainable development.
- CEO, NITI Aayog made detailed presentation giving details of actions taken in pursuance to decisions taken in earlier meetings. The Union Home Minister expressed satisfaction at the progress made since its last meeting held on November 8, 2017 when directions were given to identify additional Islands for sustainable development and also accord priority to key infrastructure projects. Additional Islands/Locations in Islands, 12 in Andaman and Nicobar (North Passage, Cinque, Inglis, Viper, Neil (Bharatpur Beach), Ramnagar Beach, Karmatang Beach, Dhaninallah Beach, Kalipur Beach, Rutland, North Bay and Great Nicobar – B Quarry) and 5 in Lakshadweep (Kalpeni, Kadmat, Agatti, Chetlat and Bitra) have been identified by NITI Aayog, in consultation with the UT Administrations, for planning of suitable projects aimed at creation of more jobs for the Islanders. Community-based tourism would be promoted benefiting the Islanders.
- Key Infrastructure projects such as creation of jetties/berthing facilities, Roll-on/Roll-off ships; Bridges on Andaman Trunk Road; Upgradation of Diglipur Airport; Construction of Minicoy Airport; Modernization of existing Jetty at Kavarati; Augmentation of Satellite Bandwidth from 1.118 Gbps to 2.118 Gbps in Andaman & Nicobar; augmentation of helicopter services for Islanders and tourists etc. are being accorded priority. With better communication services, Information Technology based and other Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) would be promoted in the Islands.
