Indian mythology contains numerous accounts of the ocean, seas, and rivers, indicating that humanity has received significant economic support from the ocean and its aquatic resources. Numerous evidence from Indian literature, art, sculpture, painting, and archaeology reveals the existence of India's maritime traditions.

The Indian subcontinent dominated the Indian Ocean for centuries from ancient times. Subsequently, the Indian sea routes began to be used for trade. The period up to the 16th century witnessed a flourishing of trade, culture, and traditional exchanges between countries.

During the Mauryan period, maritime trade activities were widespread, increasing India's proximity to many nations. During the Mauryan Empire, Indians had already established trade links in Southeast Asia, from Thailand and the Malaysian peninsula to Cambodia and southern Vietnam. The Mauryan dynasty's maritime activities paved the way for India to Indonesia and surrounding islands.

Currently, India is the world's 16th largest maritime nation, and maritime transport within India accounts for 95 percent of trade by volume and 68 percent by value. India is one of the top five ship-recycling nations in the world, accounting for 30 percent of the global ship-recycling market. India holds over 30 percent of the global ship-breaking industry market, and is home to the world's largest ship-breaking facility in Alang, Gujarat. As of December 2021, India had a fleet strength of 13,011,000 gross tonnage.

However, in terms of capacity, the Indian fleet represents only 1.2 percent of the world's fleet. In 2017, the government launched the ambitious Sagar Mala program to promote port-led development and logistics-intensive industries. India currently has 12 major and 200 non-major or intermediate ports (under state government administration). The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust is India's largest major port, while Mundra is the largest private port.

Maritime transport refers to the movement of goods and people by ships and other vessels through waterways. It is a key component of global trade, enabling the bulk transportation of commodities such as oil, grain, and manufactured goods. Maritime transport plays a vital role in global supply chains and economic development.

Maritime trade and access to deepwater areas are crucial in determining a country's economic success. Today, due to the fuel efficiency of maritime freight and the worldwide reliance on water as a mode of transportation, approximately 75 percent of international trade travels by water.

Maritime trade is an essential element of the global economy. Maritime trade has flourished in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Currently, there are over 4,500 deep-water ports worldwide. It was in this context that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed his future plans for leading the country towards prosperity through the sea in Bhavnagar. To accelerate port-led development, he laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth thousands of crores of rupees. The International Cruise Terminal in Mumbai was also inaugurated to promote cruise tourism in the country.

According to the Prime Minister, instead of focusing on shipbuilding in India, the economy was subsisting on chartering foreign ships. This crippled the shipbuilding ecosystem in India, and our dependence on foreign ships became a necessity. As a result, from 40% of trade carried out on Indian ships 50 years ago, that share has dwindled to just 5%. This means we have become dependent on foreign ships for trade. This dependence on foreign ships has caused us significant losses.

Today, India pays approximately $75 billion, or approximately six lakh crore rupees, to foreign shipping companies every year for shipping services. This is almost as much as India's defense budget. That's why he said we must build ships in India. India has been an expert in building large ships for centuries. We have no shortage of skills. Building large ships only requires political will. A historic decision has been taken to strengthen the country's maritime sector.

The government has now recognized large ships as infrastructure. Companies building large ships will now have easier access to loans from banks and will also receive interest rate concessions. To make India a major maritime power in the world, the Indian government is working on three more major schemes. These three schemes will facilitate financial assistance to the shipbuilding sector. More than seventy thousand crore rupees will be spent on these schemes in the coming years.

We are also building new and large ports in the country. Recently, the country's first deep-water container transshipment port was inaugurated in Kerala. The Vadhavan Port is being built in Maharashtra at a cost of over 75,000 crore rupees. It will be one of the top ten ports in the world.

Today, India has become one of the top three countries in the world, providing the largest number of seafarers, and this increases employment opportunities for India's youth. This means that India's growing shipping industry is also increasing its global strength. And thus, one day, India's coastline will once again become the gateway to India's prosperity.