Maharashtra is preparing to introduce a new maritime development policy aimed at attracting investments in shipbuilding, port infrastructure and domestic container manufacturing, positioning the state as a major maritime investment destination.
Speaking at a maritime industry gathering in Mumbai on November 2, Maharashtra Minister for Fisheries and Ports Development Nitesh Narayan Rane said the proposed policy would be among the most investor-friendly in the country. The state plans to offer single-window clearances and assistance with land acquisition and environmental approvals to facilitate investments and accelerate project implementation.
Rane highlighted a tripartite agreement involving the Maharashtra government, the Union government and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders for a proposed shipyard project worth ₹26,500 crore, which is expected to generate around 50,000 jobs. He also stated that investment memoranda signed during the previous year’s India Maritime Summit had translated into actual investments.
Port Growth and Maritime Infrastructure Priorities
Vijay Sankar, President-Elect of FICCI and Chairman of Sanmar Group, said India’s major ports handled a record 915 million tonnes of cargo in 2025-26, registering 7 per cent growth. He identified integrated infrastructure development, increased private sector participation and greater deployment of Indian vessels for domestic cargo transportation as key priorities for the sector.
Dhruv Kotak, Chair of the FICCI Committee on Ports and Shipping and Managing Director of JM Baxi, called on global shipbuilders, component manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to explore India’s growing maritime opportunities.
Representatives from the Netherlands highlighted investment and collaboration opportunities under the India-Netherlands Green and Digital Sea Corridor. A Dutch shipbuilding delegation is expected to visit India in February 2027 to explore potential areas of cooperation.
Government representatives also outlined measures to strengthen the maritime ecosystem, including a statutory 24-hour ship registration timeline, aggregation of vessel demand to support domestic shipyards and further expansion of port capacity.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) reported handling more than 8 million TEUs during the previous year and expects throughput to exceed 9 million TEUs in the current year.
India Targets Global Container Manufacturing Share
The need to improve cost competitiveness in domestic container manufacturing emerged as a key area of focus in industry assessments released alongside the discussions.
An FICCI-Crisil Intelligence report on domestic container manufacturing estimated that Indian manufacturers face a cost disadvantage of $650-800 per TEU compared with Chinese producers. Corten steel alone accounts for approximately half of this gap, underlining the importance of securing competitively priced raw materials.
China currently accounts for more than 95 per cent of global container production, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing India as it seeks to establish a competitive domestic manufacturing ecosystem.
Following the Union Cabinet’s approval of the ₹10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme, which targets the creation of annual manufacturing capacity of 7.5 lakh TEUs, the report recommends that India aim to capture 8-10 per cent of global production within five years. This would translate into an annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 4.8-6 lakh TEUs.
The report recommends assured access to competitively priced container-grade steel, the development of port-linked manufacturing clusters, investment in testing and certification infrastructure, and long-term procurement commitments from shipping lines and container leasing companies.
It also calls for a coordinated national container manufacturing mission to accelerate domestic capacity creation, strengthen supply chains and reduce India’s dependence on imported containers.
The broader industry outlook points to a significant opportunity for India to integrate shipbuilding, container manufacturing, port infrastructure and maritime logistics into a more competitive domestic maritime ecosystem.