GIFT City to become a major anchor for India's maritime finance ambitions: Sarbananda Sonowal

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, also known as GIFT City, is emerging as a major force in India's growing maritime finance ambitions, noted Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, on Thursday.

Speaking at the India Ship Leasing and Financing Summit, organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the MoPSW at the GIFT City Club in Gandhinagar, Sonowal pointed out that the greenfield smart city was also contributing to India's overall aim of becoming a key global maritime hub.

The summit brought together policymakers, ship owners, lessors, charterers, financiers and maritime stakeholders to discuss India's push to build a comprehensive ship ownership, leasing, and financing ecosystem to round out the country's progress in other areas of its maritime sector.

In that regard, Sonowal offered a picture of India's growing fleet footprint: 38 ship lessors have been registered so far, that have collectively leased 43 vessels, taking India's total leasing capacity past 2.99 million dwt.

24 of the leased vessels also fly the Indian flag, marking a major achievement in the country's aims.

He also noted that 41 domestic and international banks had set up base in GIFT City's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), extending close to $60.1 million in funding to ship leasing entities, with the DGMA's first regional office opening here to further strengthen this ecosystem for shipowners and operators.

This comes on the back of several key reforms across sectors that have enabled Indian shipping to compete globally. This includes exemption from licensing requirements under the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025, for foreign vessels on charter, and permission for GIFT IFSC-based shipping companies to own foreign-flag vessels.

"This marks a shift in how we count our fleet, from tonnage that flies our flag to tonnage that we own and control,” Sonowal said about reforms allowing Indian shippinng companies to own foreign-flagged vessels.

Sonowal also noted the importance of the Centre's ₹69,725 crore maritime development package from September 2025 in helping GIFT City steer India towards achieving its larger maritime ambitions under initiatives such as the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

Under the package, he specifically highlighted the Maritime Development Fund with a corpus of ₹25,000 crore, that is expected to catalyse investments of up to ₹1.5 lakh crore by 2030, and the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme's (SBFAS) outlay of ₹24,736 crore, that has been extended to 2036.

Both are aimed at strengthening Indian shipyards and vessel ownership.