India offers a huge opportunity for the shipbuilding industry and the Government is looking at ways to promote the sector, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said. 

"India has the advantage to allow cabotage of vessels and promote imports coming in Indian flagged vessels permitted within the WTO rules, but does not have enough flagged vessels to take advantage of the regulations," he said during his virtual address at the 12th Biennial International Conference on Ports, Shipping & Logistics 2025 in Mumbai.

He urged the industry to suggest ways to make flagging of vessels in India more attractive.

The Minister urged the participants to suggest ways at the State and Central levels to help companies bring flagged vessels to India.

Union Minister Goyal further stated that India has doubled its port capacity in the last decade and has significantly brought down the turnaround time of ships. However, more work needs to be done to strengthen the logistics ecosystem.

The Minister further called for a hybrid mode of training to meet the growing demand for seafarers in the sector. Container ownership, container manufacturing, faster speed of exports, and ease of congestion are the areas in which the sector needs improvement, he stressed.

He pointed out that 95 per cent of India's trade volume goes through ports and the 7,500 km coastline acts as a major enabler for trade and there is immense potential for the sector to grow over the next few years.

He also stressed the need for the logistics system to be more conducive to handling the current traffic at ports.

"Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) has been introduced to aid logistics, but more ideas are needed to provide the whole ecosystem-linked logistics at ports," he said.

Ports, shipping and the logistics sector are the lifelines that nourish the country's economy. Trade like rivers flows freely and the shipping sector connects opportunities around the world with India.

India stands out as an oasis amidst the global trade turmoil, the Minister noted, hoping the country would continue to grow and contribute towards the greater good of the world.

He pointed out the maritime trade and logistics sector was the backbone of a Viksit Bharat, he added.