This will cater to the increasing maritime traffic and help keep pace with global technological developments in the maritime domain, say sources from IIT Madras.

IIT Madras to develop great indigenous software to monitor maritime traffic

Envisaged initially as part of the Maritime Vision 2030 action plans, this software development project is part of a collaboration between IIT Madras and VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Trust in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, for which a MoU was signed recently.

Sources from IIT Madras further say, this software will help realise the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building a ‘Digital India’ and using digital technologies to build ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.’

This software could eventually be used for monitoring maritime traffic in other ports across India, say sources from IIT Madras.

This research project will be led by National Technology Centre for Ports Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC), a Centre of Excellence at IIT Madras that functions as the technology arm of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India.

T.K. Ramachandran, chairman of V.O. Cidambaranar Port Trust spoke about the unique aspects of this collaboration.

VOC Port is the first Indian major port of India to sign MoU with NTCPWC of IIT Madras for development of Indigenous software for VTS System.

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The MoU was signed recently by Captain Pravin K Singh, Deputy Conservator, VOC Port Trust and Professor K. Murali, Professor-in-charge, NTCPWC – IIT Madras, in the presence of Mr. TK Ramachandran, Chairman, VOC Port Trust, Mr. Bimal Kumar Jha, Deputy Chairman of VOC Port Trust and Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras besides other senior officials of the Port and NTCPWC.

Speaking about benefits to Indian Maritime Sector from this collaboration, Professor K. Murali, Professor In-charge, NTCPWC – IIT Madras, said the indigenous VTS software system will open up the pathway for India to develop other indigenous technology solutions that maritime severely depends on overseas solutions.

Professor Murali said the cooperation will help to build partnerships with all other major ports for providing technology solutions to address their problems.

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The highlights of the collaboration between NTCPWC of IIT Madras and V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust are:

Ø The Focus of NTCPWC will be on the operation, manning and maintenance of vessel traffic system and the development of indigenous vessel traffic software in Tuticorin

Ø NTCPWC will maintain the existing Vessel Traffic Service, for day-to-day operations and assist Pilots in real-time information of tracking of ships and analysis of Vessel traffic including Met-Ocean warnings.

Ø This maintenance model that will be adopted will help to reduce the cost of the VOC port in terms of maintenance and alert the port at an appropriate time for any repair and replacement through direct employment of the instrument vendor by the port.

Ø In addition, NTCPWC will also carry out an assessment of the existing VTS functionalities, hardware, software, identify suitable upgrades and provide a technical proposal to VOC Port for the VTS system upgrade that can be procured directly by VOC Port without involving third-party solution providers.

The present VTS at VOC Port has been operational for nearly seven years.

Given the rapid increases in maritime traffic in India and abroad, a more VTS effective system would help create higher safety levels.

About IIT Madras

IIT Madras was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’

The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.

IIT Madras is a residential institute with more than 580 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.

IIT Madras fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.

The training program was conducted by IIT Guwahati in collaboration with the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).

Broader impact

IIT Guwahati director Prof Devendra Jalihal highlighted broader impact of this initiative.

We are proud to partner with IRS to drive innovation and capability development in these fields, he said.

Program

The program was conducted at the Neel Diving Academy in Kochi, where trainers from both IRS and TIH IIT Guwahati delivered comprehensive theoretical and practical sessions.

Participants engaged in rigorous underwater welding exercises and underwent a series of technical evaluations. The quality and safety of their work samples were assessed against stringent standards, following which participants were certified for their proficiency in underwater welding, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

This certification program aligns with the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India) by building local expertise in underwater wet welding—a skill crucial for maintaining India’s offshore and maritime infrastructure, he said.

Workforce

Dr. Asokendu Samanta, Divisional Head of R&D at IRS, added, this program equips the workforce with vital underwater wet welding and deep diving skills, which are essential for maintaining India’s oil, gas, and shipping infrastructure.

Commitment

IIT Guwahati is committed to nurturing talent and empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the nation’s progress.

Through initiatives like this, the institute not only addresses critical industry needs but also contributes to the holistic growth and development of India’s workforce.

IIT Guwahati has retained the 7th position among the best engineering institutions of the country, 9th position in ‘Overall’ and 10^th position in ‘Research’ Categories in the ‘India Rankings 2024’ declared by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of the Union Ministry of Education.

IITG has achieved rank 87 in the SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2024 and is the only academic institution in India that occupied a place among the top 100 world universities – under 50 years of age – ranked by London-based Times Higher Education (THE) in 2014 and continues to maintain its superior position even today in various International Rankings.

IIT Guwahati gained rank 32 globally in the ‘Research Citations per Faculty’ category and overall 344 rank in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

Among other frontier areas of research and innovation, IIT Guwahati is working towards augmenting critical science research initiatives in Genomics, Developmental Biology, Health Care and Bioinformatics and Flexible Electronics, among numerous other areas.

Also, IIT Guwahati ranks 6th globally in Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy) of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023. IIT Guwahati has been also ranked 2nd in the ‘Swachhata Ranking’ conducted by the Govt. of India.

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