21st Maritime State Development Council Meeting in Mumbai Launches Shipbuilding Insurance Policies and Sets ONOP Reform Deadline

Key facts

• The 21st Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) meeting concluded in Mumbai on 13 October 2026, chaired by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
• This was the first MSDC meeting after it became a statutory consultative body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025, notified on 15 May 2026; the Council was originally constituted in 1997.
• The Council adopted the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 targets, which together identify over 500 initiatives across ports, shipping, inland waterways, shipbuilding, green shipping and global collaboration.
• States were urged to prepare Port Master Plans for Other Than Major Ports aligned with national targets and to fast-track multimodal connectivity projects through road, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and conveyors.
• States, in coordination with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, are to develop port-linked industrial clusters with plug-and-play infrastructure and fast-tracked approvals.
• The Council approved draft MSDC Regulations and Guidelines on port data and tariff transparency and instructed all States and Union Territories to notify subordinate rules under Section 77 of the Act within three months.
• One Nation One Port Process (ONOP) reforms, including One Nation One Documentation, Port Process Re-engineering and Inter-ministerial Process Reforms, are to be implemented across all ports by March 2027, with all ports integrating with the Maritime Single Window (MSW – Sagar Setu) by March 2027 and electronic publication of port tariffs mandated.
• Two first-of-their-kind credit risk insurance products were launched under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS): the Shipbuilding Project Credit Risk Insurance Policy (SbPCP) by ECGC Ltd. for export projects and the Business Credit Shield Policy–Shipbuilders (BCSPS) by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. for domestic projects, with the Government of India subsidising premiums and supporting insurers on claims.
• The Council resolved to prioritise Sagarmala connectivity projects, implement the National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan, promote modal shift of cargo to coastal shipping, develop shipbuilding, ship-repair and recycling clusters, and leverage the Maritime Development Fund, Shipbuilding Development Scheme and Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Programme.