NEW DELHI, October 14 — The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on Wednesday unveiled the finalized strategic roadmap of the 'Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047', outlining an ₹80 lakh crore infrastructure blueprint designed to transform India into a premier global maritime trade power by the centenary of its independence.
According to the policy document, the strategic vision seeks to expand nationwide port cargo handling capacity from the current 2,600 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) to over 10,000 MTPA by 2047. Central to this expansion is developing four world-class international transshipment gateways: the greenfield mega port at Vadhvan in Maharashtra, Vizhinjam in Kerala, Galathea Bay in the Great Nicobar Island, and the outer harbor at V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin). These domestic deep-water terminals will reverse historical container transshipment leakages toward Colombo and Singapore.
The roadmap further mandates increasing coastal shipping and inland water transport (IWT) modal share from 2 percent to 5 percent across prioritized National Waterways, mandating green hydrogen and green ammonia bunkering infrastructure across all 12 major ports under the Harit Nauka initiative.
The policy architecture of the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, statutory features of the Major Port Authorities Act 2021, the strategic geography of Vadhvan Port (handling 298 MTPA with natural 20-metre draft), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI Act 1985), and blue economy sustainability are critical topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Infrastructure & Economic Growth) and State PSC examinations.