New Delhi: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, in collaboration with the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Government of Kerala, organised a one-day workshop on “Capacity Building of Coastal States on Development of Ocean Accounts” in Kochi, Kerala.

The workshop witnessed participation from officials of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Directorates of Economics and Statistics of coastal States and Union Territories, members of the Expert Group on Ocean Ecosystem Accounts, and experts from premier institutions such as the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, National Remote Sensing Centre, National Centre for Coastal Research, Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology, and the Indian Maritime University. 

Welcoming the delegates, Subash Chandra Malik, Additional Director General (SSD), MoSPI, stressed the importance of building capacity for systematic compilation of Ocean Accounts in line with the SEEA framework.

In his keynote address, N.K. Santoshi, Director General (Central Statistics), MoSPI, reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening India’s statistical systems by integrating Ocean Ecosystem Accounts into national economic indicators. He underlined that such accounts would complement GDP by capturing the extent, condition, services, and assets of coastal and marine ecosystems.

BI Bureau