The Centre recently took a significant step to make GIFT City in Gandhinagar a global maritime finance hub. It exempted units based there from having to obtain a licence under the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025, before chartering foreign vessels for export-import and international trade.
The exemption, notified by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on July 10, 2026, removes the requirement for eligible International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) units to seek approval from the Director General of Shipping for operations covered under Section 11 of the Act. The move takes effect immediately.
Stating how the last twelve years transformed India's maritime sector through landmark reforms and world-class infrastructure, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that the next phase would focus on minimal governance to enhance competitiveness.
The latest reform builds on the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025, passed by Parliament in August 2025 to replace outdated provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, and to introduce a simplified licensing regime for vessels engaged in coastal and chartered trade.
Crucially, the exemption applies only to international EXIM operations and does not touch India's cabotage regime, meaning the existing rules protecting Indian vessels' exclusive right to ply coastal routes remain untouched.
The reform is expected to accelerate ship leasing and financing activity that has been steadily building at GIFT City since the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) first notified ship leasing as a recognised financial product in January 2022.
By March 2025, ship leasing activity at the hub had already quadrupled year-on-year, with 17 vessels leased and over $71.1 million borrowed to support operations, according to IFSCA.
GIFT City separately built up a broader financial ecosystem, including a treasury loan book worth $5.61 billion and banking assets of $111 billion, as it reinforced its ambitions as a top-tier financial centre in Asia.
Industry researchers noted that reducing regulatory friction for ship leasing and financing structures is key for attracting global maritime capital, a principle reflected in reforms undertaken by established hubs such as Singapore and Dubai.
