Context:
• At the India Maritime Week 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a major maritime vision focused on enhancing India’s port-handling capacity, shipbuilding strength, and global trade connectivity.
• The flagship initiative — the Great Nicobar Project, valued at $5 billion, is positioned as a cornerstone for India’s maritime transformation and Indo-Pacific trade integration.
Key Highlights:
- Great Nicobar Project and Strategic Vision
- The Great Nicobar Project will include a transshipment port, power plant, and international airport, transforming the island into a maritime and logistics hub.
- The project aims to boost India’s global maritime trade capacity, improve logistics competitiveness, and establish India as a major transshipment destination in the Indian Ocean.
- Total project investment: approximately $5 billion (₹40,000 crore), with port capacity expansion to 10,000 MTPA from the current 2,700 MTPA.
- India aims to become one of the top five shipbuilding nations by 2030.
- India Maritime Week 2025 Highlights
- Hosted with participation from over 100 countries, 350 speakers, and 500 companies.
- Around 680 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth ₹10 lakh crore expected to be signed.
- The event focuses on green shipping, port modernization, coastal infrastructure, and logistics digitization.
- Economic and Strategic Significance
- India’s 11,500 km coastline across 13 coastal States and UTs supports nearly 60% of India’s GDP through trade and allied services.
- By expanding maritime capacity, India targets a reduction in logistics costs from 16% to below 9% of GDP, aligning with China (8%) and Europe (12%).
- The project aligns with India’s Maritime Vision 2047 and PM Gati Shakti Master Plan, promoting integrated transport and trade corridors.
- Environmental and Social Concerns
- Environmentalists and local communities have expressed concerns regarding:
- Deforestation and biodiversity loss on the island.
- Tribal rights and displacement under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
- Ecological impact on coral reefs and coastal habitats.
- The government asserts that environmental safeguards and compensatory afforestation will be integral to project implementation.
- Geostrategic Importance
- The Great Nicobar Island, located near the Six Degree Channel, lies at the heart of major East–West maritime trade routes, handling nearly 40% of global trade traffic.
- Enhances India’s ability to serve as a bridge between the Indo-Pacific and the Global South, strengthening connectivity with ASEAN nations.
- Bolsters India’s naval logistics and strategic footprint, complementing efforts to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Great Nicobar Island: Southernmost island of the Andaman & Nicobar group; strategic location near Malacca Strait and Six Degree Channel.
- Transshipment Port: A port where goods are transferred from one vessel to another for further transport to final destinations (e.g., Singapore, Colombo, Klang).
Relevant Mains Points:
- Significance:
- Enhances India’s logistics competitiveness and global trade share.
- Creates jobs, promotes shipbuilding, and supports blue economy initiatives.
- Strengthens maritime diplomacy and Indo-Pacific connectivity under SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
- Challenges:
- Environmental degradation and potential tribal displacement.
- Financing risks and ensuring long-term economic viability.
- Need for coordination between multiple ministries (Ports, Shipping, Defence, Environment, Tribal Affairs).
- Way Forward:
- Implement sustainable coastal development norms aligned with the Blue Economy Policy Framework.
- Ensure participatory decision-making with local stakeholders and ecological experts.
- Integrate green shipping technologies and carbon-neutral logistics systems for climate resilience.