The year wise detail of total volume of cargo handled by Indian Ports including the percentage of Imports and Exports for last five years is given below:

 

Year	Cargo Handled by Indian Ports (In Million Tonnes)	% of Import and Export
2020-21	1249.98	81.74
2021-22	1323.80	80.10
2022-23	1435.33	78.39
2023-24	1542.64	78.55
2024-25	1594.33	79.26

 

Under Maritime India Vision 2030, Government has taken several steps to boost the shipbuilding industry in India and reduce dependence of foreign-built ships as given below:-

(i)                 The Ministry has amended the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP) guidelines on 29.01.2025 to encourage more participation in the shipbuilding activities.

(ii)              The Government, in November, 2021, has released Standard Tug Designs of five variants for use by Major Ports for procurement of tugs to be built in Indian Shipyards.

(iii)            To promote indigenous shipbuilding, the Ministry on 20.09.2023 has revised the hierarchy of Right of First Refusal (RoFR) to be followed in any kind of charter of a vessel which is undertaken through a tender process by favouring Indian built, Indian flagged and Indian owned.

(iv)             The Ministry has launched the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP) on 16th August, 2024 which aims to reduce carbon emissions and minimize environmental impact by encouraging adoption of environmentally sustainable tugboat operations.

(v)               Government has launched the Harit Nauka guidelines for inland vessels which aim to promote the adoption of greener technologies in inland waterway vessels.

(vi)             Government of India vide Gazette Notification No. 112 dated April 13, 2016 has included ‘Shipyards’ in the updated Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure Sub-sectors.

(vii)          In order to promote indigenous shipbuilding, Government has issued guidelines on 19.05.2016 for evaluating and awarding tenders for new shipbuilding orders floated by government departments or agencies including public sector undertakings for acquisition of any type of vessel(s) used by them for Governmental purposes or for their own use. Whenever acquisition of a vessel(s) is undertaken through a tendering route, the qualified Indian Shipyards will have a “Right of First Refusal” to enable them to match the evaluated lowest price offered by the foreign shipyard which is aimed at increasing ship building activities in Indian shipyards. Further, the Government entities dealing with ship building and ship-owning are advised to ensure local content as per the Government of India Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017. As per this Order, procurement of ships of less than ₹200 crores is required to be from Indian shipyards.

 

(d)       The country’s coastal shipping sector has witnessed rapid growth in the last decade, with cargo traffic nearly doubling from 86.3 million tonnes (MT) in FY 2014-15 to 165.4 MT in FY 2024-25.

 

(e)        The ‘Maritime Security’ has been enhanced through requisite assets induction/modernization, coastal surveillance upgrades, regional partnerships and information-sharing initiatives amongst agencies. For strengthening the Maritime and Coastal Security, following specific measures have been undertaken: -

i)                Indian Navy has been designated as authority responsible for overall Maritime Security which includes Coastal Security and Offshore Security.

ii)              Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is designated as authority responsible for Coastal Security in Territorial Waters including areas to be patrolled by Coastal Police.

iii)            Enhanced patrolling/ surveillance by ships & aircraft in coastal areas and EEZ by all stakeholders.

iv)            ICG deploys 18-20 ships, 30-35 boats/craft and 10-12 aircraft everyday for surveillance and security operations in maritime zones of India.

v)               Regular boarding operations to check credentials of the fishing boats and other operators at the sea.

vi)            Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Coastal Security in all Coastal States/UTs have been promulgated for coordination between all stakeholders.

vii)          Regular conduct of Coastal Security Exercises and Coastal Security Operations for revalidating the SOPs and Coastal Security mechanism.

viii)        Electronic Surveillance is maintained through shore based Chain of Static Sensors (CSS) comprising 46 Radar Stations. In addition, 38 Radar Stations are being set-up in phase-II of the CSS project.

ix)            ICG has been conducting regular Community Interaction Programmes (CIPs) for the fisher folk to raise awareness for strengthening maritime and coastal security. During the CIP, the fisher folk are also apprised about the need to alert security agencies regarding any suspicious/foreign boats sighted by them at sea.

This information was given by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

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SR/GDH/HK

(Release ID: 2152679)