Ports-led infrastructure development, shipbuilding, and allied clusters will be a big focus area as India looks to secure Rs 10 lakh crore in investment commitments in the India Maritime Week 2025, aiming to become self-reliant in this space.
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The India Maritime Week 2025 began in Mumbai on Monday. The event is expected to see around 600 MOUs being executed. The MOUs will be across sectors, including shipbuilding. The government is also looking at creating clusters for ship repair facilities.
The government is looking at around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in shipbuilding and allied areas, around Rs 1.7 lakh crore in green fuels and sustainability, and around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in port modernisation and logistics, according to shipping ministry officials.
"If the number of ships in our country increases, then we won't have to pay foreign companies. Every year we have to pay $70-75 billion to them. Our aim is to build ships in India on that scale and increase our ownership," said Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
He added that India intends to become a superpower in the maritime sector, and among the top five shipbuilding nations in the world by 2047.
Sonowal noted that over the past 11 years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the capacity of the country's major ports had already doubled. He also noted that there had been around a 400 per cent increase in cargo carried on Indian waterways.
"Port capacity has nearly doubled, going from 1,350 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to over 2,700 MTPA. Cargo handled at all Indian ports has also increased from 976 million metric tonnes (MMT) to over 1,600 MMT. Coastal shipping cargo has also seen an increase," noted Sonowal.
India has also recently undertaken comprehensive legal reforms to streamline its maritime legal framework, he added.
