The Indian shipping industry offers immense potential for growth, given the country’s vast coastline and large number of major and non-major ports. A significant part of India’s trade by way of volume is conducted through the sea route. Apart from the domestic and international transportation of cargo, the shipping industry also includes ship building, repair and freight forwarding facilities. The government has recently increased its focus on the country’s port sector, as India is widely regarded as an outsourcing and manufacturing hub by other countries. Indian ports are attracting more investment from both domestic and international shipping companies. However, there is a significant need for more investment for capacity expansion purposes as the ports gear up to meet rising cargo demand. At the same time, the fortunes of the industry are closely tied to the state of the world economy, as it is subject to the volatility in the global freight rates. On the other hand, India’s maritime and fishing industry is largely unorganised and offers a lot of opportunities for entry of private operators. The different segments such as marine food processing and preservation require substantial investment, and also suffer from lack of skilled manpower. The country’s fishery and marine resources are not utilised fully and offer scope for increase in output in the coming years. Hide this