The Sagarmala program and inland waterways are big wins. A large part of global maritime trade is ahead
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India has a merchant marine fleet of 1,493 ships with a total gross tonnage of about 13 million. To put this in context, about 95 percent of India’s foreign trade is carried out through the country’s ports by volume. But despite such a high volume, India is still not a big player in maritime shipping. UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, 2021 says that India accounts for only 11 per cent of the total global dead load tonnage. The smaller share of Indian shipping is mostly due to the age profile of the merchant shipping fleet (most ships are around 20 years old), with respect to the high tax regime/fees imposed on Indian ships and competition.
To counter these challenges, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led ministry provides assistance under the Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards. As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, a Rs 1,624 crore plan (over a period of five years) has also been implemented to make Indian shipping companies globally competitive. There is also the Sagarmala programme, which includes projects for modernization and construction of new ports and terminals, enhancement of port connectivity, industrialization around ports, skill development centres, etc. In order to promote inland water transport, 111 waterways (five existing and 106 new one) have been declared as National Waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016. Development activities have been taken up in the first 13 out of 25 viable waterways.