Centre unveils measures giving filip to shipbuilding industry
Published: Oct 14, 2026
By TIOLCorplaws News Service
NEW DELHI, OCT 14, 2026: THE 21st Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) concluded yesterday in Mumbai with landmark outcomes for India's maritime sector. This was the first meeting of the MSDC after its recognition as a statutory consultative body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025, notified on 15th May 2026. The Council, originally constituted in 1997, now functions with an enhanced mandate to promote integrated maritime growth, coordinated policy formulation, and planned development of maritime infrastructure.
Chaired by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, the MSDC meeting brought together Ministers of Coastal States, Administrators of Union Territories, senior officials of State Maritime Boards, Chairpersons of Major Ports, allied maritime institutions, and representatives of Central Ministries. Among the dignitaries present were Kanubhai Desai, Finance Minister of Gujarat; Digambar V. Kamat, Minister (Ports), Government of Goa; Nitesh Rane, Minister of Fisheries & Ports Development, Government of Maharashtra; and Malladi Krishna Rao, Minister from Puducherry. Senior Secretaries and CEOs of Maritime Boards from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala also participated, along with Chairpersons of Major Ports including Deendayal, JNPA, MbPA, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, SMPA, Kamarajar, and Mormugao. Heads of allied organisations such as the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Shipping Corporation of India, Dredging Corporation of India, Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation, Cochin Shipyard, Indian Maritime University, DPIIT, NITI Aayog, Indian Navy and Coast Guard were also in attendance.
The meeting was preceded by educational port visits to the Mumbai Port Authority Cruise Terminal and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), showcasing India's cruise and container port capabilities.
During the deliberations, the Council adopted the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 targets, which together identify over 500 initiatives across ports, shipping, inland waterways, shipbuilding, green shipping and global collaboration. States and State Maritime Boards were urged to prepare Port Master Plans for Other Than Major Ports aligned with these national targets, with MoPSW sharing the standardized template used by Major Ports.
The Council endorsed the priorities of the National Perspective Plan and urged States to fast-track multimodal connectivity projects through road, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and conveyors. It resolved that States, in coordination with MoPSW, to develop port-linked industrial clusters with land availability, plug-and-play infrastructure and fast-tracked approvals, integrated with port capacity expansion and connectivity projects.
On statutory compliance, the Council approved draft MSDC Regulations and Guidelines on port data and tariff transparency, and instructed all States and Union Territories to notify subordinate rules under Section 77 of the Act within three months.
"The Indian Ports Act gave the MSD council its legal foundation. Yesterday the Centre and the coastal states turned that foundation into a shared work plan, with deadlines every one of us has agreed to meet," Sarbananda Sonowal said. "This is cooperative federalism in maritime governance, delivering for our ports and for port-led industrialisation."
In a major step towards ease of doing business, the Council resolved that the One Nation One Port Process (ONOP) reforms, including One Nation One Documentation, Port Process Re-engineering and Inter-ministerial Process Reforms, to be implemented across all ports by March 2027. It further resolved that all ports shall integrate with the Maritime Single Window (MSW - Sagar Setu) by March 2027, ensuring unified digital processes nationwide. Transparency of port tariffs through electronic publication was also mandated. To support uniform implementation, Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the Ready Reckoner for Implementing ONOP, a comprehensive guide for Major and Other Than Major Ports. The document includes references to central circulars issued by CBIC, MHA and MoHFW for implementing inter-ministerial process reforms, and sets out clear expectations from State and Union Territory Governments to expedite ONOP implementation.
The Council gave particular emphasis to port connectivity, shipbuilding and cruise shipping. It resolved to prioritise connectivity projects under Sagarmala, implement the National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan, promote modal shift of cargo to coastal shipping, facilitate development of shipbuilding, ship-repair and recycling clusters, and leverage the Maritime Development Fund, Shipbuilding Development Scheme and Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Programme for financing. Cruise shipping infrastructure development at Major and Non-Major Ports was also endorsed.
A significant announcement was made by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, introducing two specialized credit risk insurance products to support India's shipbuilding industry under the National Shipbuilding Mission. Developed under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), these first-of-their-kind insurance policies aim to reduce financial stress in large-scale ship manufacturing. The Shipbuilding Project Credit Risk Insurance Policy (SbPCP), developed by ECGC Ltd., will cover export projects, while the Business Credit Shield Policy-Shipbuilders (BCSPS), developed by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. (NIACL), will protect domestic projects. The Government of India will subsidise insurance premiums and provide direct support to insurers in case shipyards file claims. Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said, "Building a ship is a massive, multi-year journey, a single missed milestone payment could stall an entire shipyard's operations. With these new insurance policies, we are stepping in to give them a real safety net. We want our shipyards to focus on what they do best, building world-class vessels, without the fear of delayed payments or sudden global market shifts holding them back."
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal emphasized the significance of the meeting, stating, "The MSDC has now entered a new statutory phase, strengthening cooperative federalism in maritime governance. With the adoption of MIV 2030 and MAKV 2047 targets, India's ports and shipping sector will be future-ready, competitive and aligned with global standards. The Council's resolutions yesterday mark a decisive step towards integrated maritime growth and port-led industrialisation."
The 21st MSDC has set a jointly owned course of action for integrated development of Major and Non-Major Ports, reinforcing India's maritime vision under Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal called the meeting "a meeting of Team India" and tied the council's work to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas," or together with all, development for all, trust of all, effort of all.
