India's potential to reclaim its maritime glory with the Sagarmala programme was the highlight of Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Shantanu Thakur's Friday speech at THE WEEK-GRSE Sagar Sankalp—'Reclaiming India’s Maritime Glory’, a high-level maritime defence dialogue.
Initiated in 2015 to modernise ports, enhance connectivity, and create port-led industrialisation, the Sagarmala programme has a vision to make India one of the top 5 maritime superpowers globally.
“Shipbuilding is of vital importance to the Government of India ... As a result, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invested a lot into the maritime sector, particularly in shipbuilding," he said, referring to the 2026 Budget allocation for the shipping sector.
He also emphasised the importance of India's geographical position to the maritime sector, and went on to talk about the importance of the Malacca Strait and the Ten Degree Channel—a narrow waterway that separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands—and its importance to global trade.
“If we improve our shipbuilding sector, India would become a very strong shipbuilding site in South Asia, because most congregations of ships start from the Malacca Strait,” Thakur explained, noting that it would require a lot of effort and dedication for India to become a very important part of the global shipbuilding sector in the future.
“As we move forward with strengthening domestic shipbuilding under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we will create jobs, boost engineering capabilities, attract investments, and grow as a stretegic maritime superpower,” he added.
Thakur also spoke of India's journey of incorporating green energy and sustainability in the maritime sector. This involves a focus on energy-efficient vessels, cleaner fuels, and environmentally responsible port operations.
He also noted India's immense potential in the inland waterways sector—another major part of this year's Budget allocation—given the country's coastline of more than 11,000km and 200 ports.