Inland Vessel Act, 2021 to promote ease of doing business in India

August 31, 2021: Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that India is on the cusp of a major maritime revolution and requires a vibrant and strong maritime industry for both economic and strategic reasons.

Addressing the Indian Ports & Logistics Conclave 'Developing Ports for the Future: New India@75', organized by FICCI last week, Sonowal said, "Port development in India is guided by the flagship Sagarmala program and the Maritime India Vision 2030." Stressing upon the importance of reducing logistic costs in the country, he highlighted that the recently passed Inland vessel Act, 2021 will usher a new era in the inland water transport sector to make the legislative framework user friendly and promote ease of doing business, he emphasized.

Sonowal also stated that the government is also focusing on the domestic shipbuilding and ship repair market. "To encourage domestic shipbuilding, the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards has been approved," he added.

The ministry, he noted has achieved significant progress through port-led development, policy initiatives, provision of multi-modal services for logistic movement through inland waterways, ease of doing business, improving ship building and recycling techniques and measures to facilitate flagging of vessels in India. "Consistent efforts have been put towards the development of a robust and sustainable infrastructure for facilitating the transformation of the sector into an engine of growth for India," added Sonowal.

Sanjeev Ranjan, secretary, ministry of ports, shipping and Waterways while elaborating on the Maritime India Vision 2030, highlighted that the government is working towards positioning the Indian maritime sector at par with international standards by attracting domestic as well as international investments.

Talking about the recently launched National Monetization Pipeline, Ranjan added that the government's move to monetize shipping assets worth approximately ₹12,000 crore through National Monetization Plan will open a new range of opportunities and will help in promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Dhruv K. Kotak, managing director, JM BAXI applauded the ministry for their path-breaking initiatives which will transform the Indian maritime sector. He highlighted the importance of moving towards IT-enabled infrastructure for benchmarking Indian ports with global standards.