The 21st Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) meeting concluded in Mumbai with significant policy announcements for India's maritime sector. This was the first meeting after MSDC's recognition as a statutory consultative body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025, notified on 15th May 2026, enhancing its mandate for integrated maritime growth and coordinated policy formulation.
Chaired by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the meeting included participation from ministers of coastal states, administrators of union territories, senior officials of state maritime boards, chairpersons of major ports, and representatives from central ministries and allied organizations including Inland Waterways Authority of India, Shipping Corporation of India, Dredging Corporation of India, and Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation.
The Council adopted the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 targets, which together identify over 500 initiatives across ports, shipping, inland waterways, shipbuilding, green shipping and global collaboration. States were urged to prepare Port Master Plans for Other Than Major Ports aligned with these national targets.
A major announcement was the launch of two specialized credit risk insurance products under the National Shipbuilding Mission. The Shipbuilding Project Credit Risk Insurance Policy (SbPCP), developed by ECGC Ltd., will cover export projects, while the Business Credit Shield Policy–Shipbuilders (BCSPS), developed by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. (NIACL), will protect domestic projects. The Government of India will subsidise insurance premiums and provide direct support to insurers in case of claims.
The Council resolved that the One Nation One Port Process (ONOP) reforms, including One Nation One Documentation, Port Process Re-engineering and Inter-ministerial Process Reforms, must be implemented across all ports by March 2027. All ports shall integrate with the Maritime Single Window (MSW – Sagar Setu) by the same deadline. Minister Sonowal launched the Ready Reckoner for Implementing ONOP, a comprehensive guide for ports.
The Council mandated electronic publication of port tariffs for transparency and instructed all states and union territories to notify subordinate rules under Section 77 of the Indian Ports Act within three months. It resolved that states, in coordination with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, should develop port-linked industrial clusters with land availability, plug-and-play infrastructure and fast-tracked approvals.
Additional priorities included multimodal connectivity projects under Sagarmala, implementation of the National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan, modal shift of cargo to coastal shipping, development of shipbuilding clusters, and cruise shipping infrastructure development at both Major and Non-Major Ports.