If seeing is believing, the maritime sector has historically suffered from low public visibility. While trains, automobiles and aeroplanes are familiar and frequently experienced by citizens, ships remain distant silhouettes on the horizon or are merely heard about. This limited visibility has long kept shipping and allied maritime sectors outside mainstream national discourse after Independence. In recent years, however, maritime development has moved into the spotlight through ambitious policies, investment commitments, and administrative and legislative reforms.
India’s development trajectory has increasingly recognised port-led growth and maritime infrastructure as catalysts for economic expansion. The Sagarmala Programme seeks to modernise ports, enhance connectivity and promote coastal and inland waterways through 839 projects with an estimated outlay of ₹5.79 lakh crore. This was followed by Maritime India Vision 2030, proposing 150 initiatives involving investments of ₹3–3.5 lakh crore, with potential to generate nearly 20 lakh jobs and annual revenues of approximately ₹20,000 crore. Building upon these initiatives, the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 outlines more than 300 initiatives across 11 thematic areas, envisaging investments of ₹7–8.5 lakh crore and employment generation for 3.5–4 crore individuals.
Taken together, these programmes reflect a projected investment of nearly US$0.9 trillion in India’s maritime sector. Approximately 72% of investments target expansion of national tonnage, around 25 % focus on developing ports to global standards, while the remainder supports cruise tourism, shipbuilding and repair, and coastal and inland shipping. At the India Today Infrastructure Conclave 2026, the maritime reform agenda was reiterated with emphasis on port capacity augmentation, multimodal integration, coastal shipping expansion and sustainable port development, positioning the sector as central to employment and economic stability.
Administrative reforms have complemented these initiatives. The renaming of the Ministry of Shipping as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways reflects an expanded mandate aligned with emerging maritime priorities. Institutional monitoring mechanisms have also been strengthened through two important frameworks. Viksit Bharat Sankalp Cells focus on policy formulation, while Neel Arth Vision Implementation Cells execute projects across nearly 25 domains, including capacity building, education, training, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. These cells operate through defined deliverables and are monitored through dynamic dashboards like OVOD (One Vision One Document) and Sagarmanthan portal, enhancing transparency, coordination and efficiency.
Simultaneously, legislative reforms have sought to align India’s maritime governance with international best practices. Several major maritime Bills have been introduced over the past decade, many of which have recently secured parliamentary approval. These reforms aim to modernise maritime regulations, improve ease of doing business, and create a more competitive operating environment. Nevertheless, concerns have emerged regarding the extent of public consultation, potential erosion of federal flexibility, vessel ownership definitions, cabotage regulations, dispute resolution frameworks, and environmental compliance obligations. The ongoing rule-making process is expected to address these issues and provide operational clarity.
Policy reforms and infrastructure investments have already begun influencing India’s global maritime standing. The country has entered the top ten most connected maritime nations according to international shipping connectivity assessments, with notable improvements driven by the handling of larger container vessels at major ports such as Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Vizhinjam.
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Despite these achievements, India’s shipping capacity remains modest relative to global benchmarks. As of January 2025, India operated around 1.7 % of the global fleet and roughly 0.7 % in deadweight tonnage terms. India-owned shipping accounts for approximately 1.5 % of global fleet capacity, with more than half of these vessels registered under foreign flags. In value terms, India’s share of global fleet ownership stands at approximately 1%, highlighting the significant gap between national ambitions and current shipping capacity.
Recent legislative provisions therefore aim to expand Indian-flag tonnage. These include broadening ownership eligibility to non-resident Indians, overseas citizens of India, limited liability partnerships and notified entities. Additional reforms permit registration of bareboat-chartered vessels, simplify digital registration procedures, extend tonnage tax benefits to inland vessels and ease coastal trade regulations. Such measures seek to make Indian vessel registration more competitive globally. In parallel, IOCL, BPCL and HPCL agreed to acquire a 35% stake in a joint venture with the Shipping Corporation of India to progressively onshore chartering operations and conserve foreign exchange.
Recognising shipbuilding as a strategic industry, the Government approved a comprehensive ₹69,725 crore package in September 2025 to revitalise the shipbuilding ecosystem. The initiative adopts a four-pillar strategy – strengthening domestic shipbuilding capacity, facilitating long-term financing mechanisms, promoting both greenfield and brownfield shipyard development, and enhancing technical skills alongside legal and policy reforms.
These measures aim to expand India’s shipbuilding capacity to approximately 4.5 million gross tonnes. Yet, India remains a relatively small player in the global shipbuilding industry, accounting for only about 0.06% of worldwide output as of 2024. Major public-sector shipyards, such as Cochin Shipyard Limited and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, are expected to play a central role in this expansion through large-scale capacity enhancements, strategic investments, and the creation of new job opportunities. Complementing these efforts, the Shipping Corporation of India intends to procure 26 India-built vessels valued at approximately ₹19,820 crore, providing substantial demand support to domestic shipyards.
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Structural challenges, however, persist. Several shipyards have historically faced financial distress and closure. Technological limitations, capacity constraints, and shortages of skilled manpower continue to restrict productivity. Ship financing remains complex, with institutional reluctance to adopt globally established financing models. The ship-leasing framework under the GIFT-IFSC ecosystem also requires clearer operational guidelines to encourage investor participation.
Addressing these challenges necessitates a stronger integration of policy, technology and academic research. Maritime think tanks within universities and research institutions must engage with industry to simplify regulatory frameworks and promote knowledge dissemination. Greater participation in international decision-making forums will enable India to shift from reactive policy responses to proactive global leadership.
India already holds a prominent position in ship recycling. Along with Bangladesh, Pakistan and Türkiye, the country accounts for over 91 % of global ship recycling activity, with India alone handling over 2 million gross tonnes in 2024. While this demonstrates strength in end-of-life vessel management, expanding new shipbuilding capacity remains essential for balanced maritime growth.
A key strategy for strengthening maritime capability lies in adopting the Triple Helix Model, integrating collaboration among academia, industry and government. In the shipbuilding sector, however, a critical challenge is the absence of a comprehensive assessment of training capacity. Evaluating facilities for hands-on training, on-the-job learning, modern equipment and trained instructors is essential. Although India may have between 30 and 50 operational shipyards, only a limited number possess the infrastructure required to support structured training programmes. In this context, the Indian Maritime University, recognised as an awarding body for vocational education, can play an important role in standardising curricula and certification not only for shipbuilding but also across related sectors such as ports, offshore operations and inland waterways.
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Initiatives such as the proposed India Ship Technology Centre aim to strengthen indigenous ship design, research and training capabilities. Government support for advanced design software, combined with industry expertise and academic research, could help develop domestic maritime technologies and reduce reliance on foreign design expertise. Maritime Innovation Hubs at the Indian Maritime University and selected technological institutes are expected to further link research with entrepreneurship and emerging maritime start-up ecosystems.
Modernising shipyards and developing ancillary industries will be essential for expanding domestic production capacity. Integrating micro, small and medium enterprises into the maritime manufacturing supply chain through supportive policies and risk-sharing mechanisms can broaden the industrial base, improve operational efficiency and strengthen supply chain resilience. Reducing shipyards’ structural dependence on defence orders would also encourage greater diversification into commercial shipbuilding.
Maintaining India’s position as a major supplier of global maritime manpower remains another strategic priority. Sustaining this advantage will require continuous improvements in training standards, faculty development and early outreach programmes. Collaboration with technologically advanced maritime nations and equipment manufacturers can help training systems keep pace with emerging technologies, including alternate fuels, automation and digital navigation systems.
Ultimately, India’s maritime ambitions are supported by favourable policy winds, substantial investment commitments and expanding global engagement. However, successful transformation depends upon the effective implementation of these initiatives, integration of stakeholders across institutional boundaries, and sustained emphasis on skill development, technological innovation and infrastructure modernisation.
As the saying goes, it is the set of the sails rather than the direction of the winds that determines the course of a voyage. The winds of maritime development are clearly favourable for India. The decisive factor will be how effectively the nation sets its sails to harness these opportunities and navigate towards sustained maritime leadership.
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–Balaji is the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Indian Maritime University (IMU) and Rajalakshmi is a junior research fellow with the Centre for Policy Research in Maritime Studies, IMU.