{"id":60886,"date":"2026-09-12T21:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/india-charts-course-to-become-global-hub-for-ship-ownership-leasing-and-maritime-finance-sarbananda-sonowal\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T21:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:01:15","slug":"india-charts-course-to-become-global-hub-for-ship-ownership-leasing-and-maritime-finance-sarbananda-sonowal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/india-charts-course-to-become-global-hub-for-ship-ownership-leasing-and-maritime-finance-sarbananda-sonowal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIndia Charts Course to Become Global Hub for Ship Ownership, Leasing and Maritime Finance:\u201d Sarbananda Sonowal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 11:<\/strong>\u00a0Union Minister of Ports, Shipping &amp; Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, was the\u00a0Chief Guest at the India Ship Leasing and Financing Summit, organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), at the GIFT City Club, Gandhinagar, today.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>GIFT City\u00a0Emerges as the\u00a0Enabling\u00a0Platform for India\u2019s\u00a0Maritime\u00a0Finance\u00a0Ambitions<\/li>\n<li>Sonowal\u00a0Addressed the India Ship Leasing and Financing Summit at the IFSC in GIFT City<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The summit brought together policymakers, ship owners, lessors, charterers, financiers and maritime stakeholders to deliberate on India\u2019s push to build a comprehensive ship ownership, leasing and financing ecosystem, with GIFT City positioned as the platform enabling this ambition. The Minister also unveiled the brochure of the National Maritime Games 2027, to be held at Ganpat University, Gujarat, under the aegis of MoPSW.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-121545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42-450x253.jpg 450w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-1-42.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addressing the gathering, Sonowal invoked India\u2019s maritime legacy, tracing it to the Indus Valley Civilization and the ancient port of Lothal in Gujarat.\u00a0<em>\u201cThis gathering marks a significant milestone in our collective journey to position India, and particularly GIFT City, as a global maritime hub for a comprehensive maritime value chain ecosystem\u00a0<\/em><em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em><em>encompassing ship leasing, owning, financing, insurance, brokering and other ancillary services,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Sonowal\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-121546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17-450x253.jpg 450w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-2-17.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Minister pointed to India\u2019s growing fleet footprint, with 38 ship lessors now registered and collectively leasing 43 vessels, taking total leasing capacity past 2.99 million DWT, of which 24 vessels now fly the Indian flag. He added that 41\u00a0domestic and international banks have set up in the IFSC, extending close to USD 60.1 million in funding to ship leasing entities, with DGMA\u2019s first regional office opening in GIFT City set to further strengthen this ecosystem for shipowners and operators.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-121547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9-450x253.jpg 450w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-3-9.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sonowal outlined key reforms enabling Indian shipping to compete globally, including exemption from licensing requirements under the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025, for foreign vessels on charter, and permission for GIFT IFSC-based shipping companies to own foreign-flag vessels. On the latter,\u00a0Sonowal\u00a0said,\u00a0<em>\u201cMore fundamentally, it marks a shift in how we count our fleet\u00a0<\/em><em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em><em>from tonnage that flies our flag to tonnage that we own and control.<\/em><em>P<\/em><em>M Narendra\u00a0<\/em><em>Modi ji\u2019s dynamic leadership has carried GIFT City from thought to fruition, and it is now poised to be the launchpad for India\u2019s next wave of maritime growth<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-121548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3-450x253.jpg 450w, https:\/\/pnn.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PNN-4-3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Union Minister\u00a0further cited\u00a0Modi\u00a0government\u2019s financial commitments to the sector, including the\u00a0\u20b925,000 crore Maritime Development Fund expected to catalyse investments of up to\u00a0\u20b91.5 lakh crore by 2030, and the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) 2.0, with a revised outlay of\u00a0\u20b924,736 crore extended to 2036\u00a0\u2014\u00a0both aimed at strengthening Indian shipyards and vessel ownership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0Union\u00a0Minister attributed this momentum to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referencing the Maritime India Vision\u00a0(MIV)\u00a02030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision\u00a0(MAKV)\u00a02047 as roadmaps to expand India\u2019s fleet,\u00a0boost port capacity and coastal shipping, and place India among the top five global shipbuilding nations. He also cited India\u2019s emergence as the world\u2019s largest ship recycling nation, its share of global tonnage rising from 30.1% in 2024 to 35.4% in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vijay Kumar, Secretary, MoPSW; K. Rajaraman, Chairperson, IFSCA; and Hareet Shukla, Principal Secretary, Ports &amp; Transport, Government of Gujarat, were also present.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 11:\u00a0Union Minister of Ports, Shipping &amp; Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, was the\u00a0Chief Guest at the India Ship Leasing and Financing Summit, organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), at the GIFT City Club, Gandhinagar, today. GIFT City\u00a0Emerges as the\u00a0Enabling\u00a0Platform [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[631],"class_list":["post-60886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}