Discuss how India's ship recycling sector has transformed through regulatory alignment with international conventions. Assess its economic and environmental implications.

Once criticised as a hazardous "beaching" trade, India's ship recycling industry captured 35.4% of the global market in 2025, up from 30.1% in 2024, to become the world's leading recycler [1]. This turnaround rests less on cheap labour than on a deliberate alignment of domestic law with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC).

Regulatory transformation

• Treaty-to-statute pathway: the Cabinet approved simultaneous accession to the Hong Kong International Convention, 2009 and enactment of a domestic law [2]; the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019 received Presidential assent on 13 December 2019 [3].
• Substantive standards: the Act restricts hazardous materials, mandates authorisation of recycling yards, a ship-specific recycling plan and a Ready for Recycling Certificate [3].
• Institutional clarity: the Directorate General of Shipping was notified as the single National Authority, replacing fragmented oversight [4].
• Layered rule-making: Ship Recycling Rules, 2021 and Regulations, 2026 complete an Act–Rules–Regulations architecture; the HKC itself entered into force on 26 June 2025 [1].

Economic implications

• Volumes grew from 1.86 million GT (2024) to 2.99 million GT (2025), nearly 60% growth, meeting the Maritime India Vision 2030 target five years early [1].
• Alang–Sosiya, Gujarat, handling ~98% of national activity, supplies roughly 3.5 million tonnes of recovered steel yearly, cutting scrap-import dependence [1].
• A Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme (40% of scrap value) channels recycling earnings into domestic shipbuilding, closing a circular maritime loop [1].

Environmental implications

• HKC compliance phases out unsafe beach-cutting; ₹53.5 crore aided modernisation of 115 facilities [1].
• Recycling substitutes secondary steel for ore-based production, lowering emissions and landfill burden.
• Gains remain conditional: EU green-listing of Alang yards is still limited, and downstream disposal of asbestos and oily residues needs sustained monitoring.

India thus demonstrates how treaty alignment can convert a polluting sunset industry into a compliant, employment-rich green sector. Extending certification across all yards, strengthening worker-safety audits and pursuing EU listing would consolidate this lead — advancing both the Blue Economy and SDG-12 on responsible production.