Parliament has passed the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025 with the Rajya Sabha approving it today. The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill. The Bill seeks to regulate vessels engaged in trade within the country’s coastal waters. The bill aims to consolidate and amend the law relating to regulation of coastal shipping, promote coastal trade and encourage domestic participation. This Bill will ensure that the country is equipped with a coastal fleet, owned and operated by the citizens of the country for its national security and commercial needs.
Replying to a debate on the bill, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said, this is a very significant reform initiative under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will unlock the full potential of the country’s vast and strategic coastline. He said this will help in achieving the goal of the country’s coastal cargo traffic to 230 million metric tonnes by 2030. Mr Sonowal said that this will also minimise regulations and maximize facilitation of growth opportunities in coastal trade. He said the Coastal shipping bill is designed to make coastal trade more competitive and easier for doing business.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, Darshan Singh of BJP said that this bill will strengthen the country’s maritime capabilities and empower the coastal areas. She said it will also lead the country towards self-reliance, ensuring security and inclusive development. Ms Singh noted that the country is surrounded by a vast coastline but the country’s economy has not been able to harness the full potential. She said that the share of coastal shipping in the country is only six to seven per cent of the total logistics traffic. Milind Murli Deora of Shiv Sena said, the bill will encourage Make in India initiative by boosting the country’s economy. He said transportation from shipping will not only save money but also save the environment. He said, in the last ten years the coastal shipping and waterways sector has grown exponentially. Mr Deora said that ten years ago only 18 million tonnes of cargo was moved on national waterways but today 133 millions of cargo are being moved through waterways. Golla Baburao of YSRCP said that the Coastal shipping bill is very important to regulate the shipping transport and trade not only in India but also in other countries. Dr M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Masthan Rao Yadav of TDP, Birendra Prasad Baishya of AGP, Kalpana Saini of BJP and others also participated in the discussion.
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