Early Times Report
Mumbai, Sept 27: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), in association with the Indian Ports Association (IPA), today hosted an industry meet at the Taj Santacruz, Mumbai as part of a series of precursor events ahead of India Maritime Week (IMW) 2025.
The meet held on 25 September 2025 brought together around 60 delegates, senior government officials and maritime industry leaders, including CEOs of top maritime companies. The session was graced by the presence of Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Dr. M. Angamuthu, Chairman, Mumbai Port Authority, Captain Binesh Kumar Tyagi, CMD, Shipping Corporation of India, Shri Unmesh Wagh, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Shri. R. Lakshmanan, Joint Secretary (Ports), MoPSW.
The programme commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp and the formal welcome of dignitaries, after which the Shri Angamuthu, Chairman MbPA delivered the IMW briefing and a comprehensive welcome address. In his remarks, the Chairman set out the Ministry’s short-to-medium term roadmap for the sector, emphasising India’s ongoing maritime transformation driven by capacity expansion, infrastructure modernisation and technology adoption. He highlighted the Ministry’s focus on strengthening inland waterways and coastal shipping, supporting shipbuilding and ship repair capacity, and fostering sustainable port practices — including pilots for renewable energy and electrification at terminals. He also outlined measures to improve ease of doing business, streamline regulatory processes and deepen public–private collaboration to accelerate project delivery.
Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, addressed the gathering and reiterated the government’s vision for a green, resilient and growth-oriented maritime ecosystem ahead of IMW 2025. The Minister outlined strategic priorities to promote modal shift to waterways, expand cruise and coastal tourism, build shipbuilding and recycling capabilities, and advance the decarbonisation of vessels and port operations. The Hon’ble Minister emphasised that India is naturally positioned to harness its rivers and seas for connectivity, prosperity, and the creation of employment opportunities. He acknowledged the significant contribution of industry leaders to the growth of India’s maritime sector and underlined that their active support and participation will be crucial in making India Maritime Week 2025 a grand success. The Minister noted that the maritime sector is undergoing rapid modernisation, with a focus extending beyond ports to include inland waterways. Citing the Hon’ble Prime Minister, he highlighted that India pays nearly USD 75–80 billion (around INR 6 lakh crore) annually to foreign ship owners, an amount equivalent to the nation’s defence budget, which underscores both the scale and potential of the sector. He announced the creation of a dedicated corpus of INR 25,000 crore to boost India’s marine sector and referred to the recent Cabinet approval of packages aimed at revitalising shipbuilding, with the vision of positioning India among the top five shipbuilding nations globally. This initiative, he stressed, is expected to generate employment for 25–30 lakh people. The Minister also unveiled the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, with an outlay of over INR 90,000 crore, to further accelerate India’s progress in the maritime domain.
The Joint Secretary (Ports), Shri R. Lakshmanan, addressed the assembly and highlighted the Ministry’s tireless efforts towards key initiatives recently approved by the Cabinet. |
