India Maritime Investment Meet showcases opportunities for UK in shipping, ports

London, Jul 8 (PTI) A maritime meet at the High Commission of India in London on Tuesday highlighted the massive potential for UK investors to tap into the opportunities on offer in the ports and shipping sector on the back of policy reforms and fiscal incentives, positioning India as the “next big destination for green and investible maritime growth”.

T K Ramachandran, Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, delivered a keynote address at the ‘India Maritime Investment Meet’ around Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25-year vision of unleashing a “maritime Amrit Kaal”, which would peg India as a maritime power with an emerging maritime economy.

Inviting representatives from the UK’s maritime and shipping industries to India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai later in the year, Ramachandran highlighted four key pillars of focus within the India-UK partnership as: shipbuilding and recycling ecosystem, investment opportunities in ports, scaling the shipping sector and innovative financing models.

“We are gathered here not just to discuss these opportunities, but to also lay the foundation for a stronger, greener and more interconnected maritime world,” said Ramachandran.

“The Indian economy, as you are aware, has emerged as the fourth largest economy, crossing the USD 4 trillion mark. Incidentally, the paradigm Amrit Kaal vision looks at an investment of USD 1 trillion over the next 20 years... Over the past decade, our ports have significantly enhanced efficiency, reduced container vessel turnaround time from 42 hours to 30 hours, an improvement of nearly 30 per cent bringing us closer to global benchmarks,” he said.

The Ministry official went on to highlight the country’s strength in human capital, evident in Indian seafarers deployed globally at increased numbers by about 170 per cent, the country’s standing in global logistics improving rapidly and the shipbuilding sector gaining momentum with India improving its ranking from 23rd to 16th globally. Additionally, cargo movement through inland waterways and shipping also doubling.

“We are undergoing a transformative shift backed by strong policy and financial support from the government. India offers immense investment opportunities, with 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) permitted in the shipping and shipbuilding sector under the automatic route. Global investors have seamless access to India's growing maritime landscape,” he stressed.

The event incorporated a series of panel discussions, with policymakers and industry experts from both India and the UK covering topics around the four key pillars of the summit.

“For the first time in centuries, we are once again using waterways, in other words, our riverine system for efficient and productive means of transporting goods to help support rail and road infrastructure,” Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said in his opening address.

“If the world is to be more able to achieve its Net Zero goals, then the processes by which transportation infrastructure, in particular shipping infrastructure, becomes green and certainly less environmentally impactful, is of interest to all of us,” he said.

Under the theme of ‘Uniting Oceans, One Maritime Vision’, India Maritime Week 2025 taking place between October 27-31 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre is dubbed as the “world’s largest maritime event”.

The investment meet in London was designed as a peek into what it would have on offer for investors from the UK. PTI AK SCY SCY