Why India needs to build more of its own ships
Sanjeev Sanyal, from the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, says India's dependence on foreign ships for 90% of its trade is a strategic vulnerability.
He points out that if things go south globally, major shipping lines could simply stop moving our goods.
India pays $75 billion to foreign shipping companies
India pays $70 billion to $75 billion every year to foreign shipping companies, and Indian-built ships now handle just 5% of our trade (down from 40%).
Meanwhile, India makes less than 1% of the world's ships, while China accounts for 61% of the order book in major commercial shipping sectors.
With most shipbuilding happening in Northeast Asia and India's trade growing through new deals, this gap feels even bigger.
Government has launched big initiatives to boost shipbuilding at home
To fix this, the government has launched big initiatives: an $8.4 billion scheme and a $3 billion Maritime Development Fund to boost shipbuilding at home.
The goal? Grow India's share to 20% of global shipbuilding by March 2046 (20 years from March 2026) and add around 1,000 new vessels by March 2036 (10 years from March 2026).