Government initiatives to attract FDI in Maritime sector.

The Indian port and shipping industry plays a crucial role in sustaining growth in the country's trade and commerce. According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India's trade by volume and 70 per cent by value is undertaken through maritime transport. Driven by new manufacturing and power projects and higher cargo traffic at ports, the sector is certainly poised for significant growth and development.

India, with her 7,517 km long coastline studded with 12 major ports and 200 non-major ports provides tremendous opportunities for the development of this sector. Further, cargo traffic has been predicted to reach 1,758 MMT by 2017. Increasing investments and cargo traffic point to a healthy outlook for port support services. In realisation of the same, our government has allowed foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent for projects related to the construction and maintenance of ports and harbours as well as other related segments including oil and gas sector, pipelines and refineries.
 
Registering the fact that foreign investments provide a great stimulus for growth of the Indian economy and alongside it also manifests the faith of the foreign investors in the Indian economy. Our government has allowed a 10-year tax holiday to enterprises engaged in the business of developing, maintaining, and operating ports, inland waterways, and inland ports. This move has been initiated by the government as currently there are limited service providers for port operations and maintenance thus inducing an opportunity for domestic and overseas players in that segment. Further there are also thoughts on reviewing the TAMP (Tariff Authority for Major Ports).

These initiatives will depict India as a more viable place to invest contingently yielding more employment opportunities under these sectors and would emblazon a better future for the marine world.