New shipbuilding policy soon

Shipping minister says policy will help India become one of the top five shipbuilding nations by 2047

- DHRUVAKSH SAHA

A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, announced the Centre's push for indigenous shipbuilding, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said that a new policy will be unveiled soon, giving a push to India's ambitious plan to be part of the top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.

From being 22nd in the world right now, India will endeavour to be among the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and top five by 2047, with a new shipbuilding policy which will be unveiled soon, Sonowal said in a post-budget interaction.

The ministry has been working on a shipbuilding policy, for which it had sought stakeholder comments on broadbased policy directives in the first week of July. In a presentation prepared by KPMG for the ministry, it suggested a host of measures to boost indigenous shipbuilding.