Discuss how strengthening indigenous shipbuilding capacity contributes to India's economic and strategic autonomy.

Despite a 7,500-km coastline, India carries only a small share of its own EXIM cargo on Indian-flag vessels, paying an estimated $75 billion a year as freight to foreign shipping lines [1]. Building ships at home is therefore not merely an industrial goal but a route to economic and strategic self-reliance under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision (MAKV) 2047 [2].

Economic autonomy

• Conserving foreign exchange: a larger domestic fleet retains freight earnings within India, improving the invisibles account of the balance of payments; the plan to add 100 new ships targets exactly this outgo [1].
• Manufacturing multiplier: shipbuilding has strong backward linkages to steel, marine engineering and MSME ancillaries, generating skilled employment through the proposed shipbuilding mega-clusters [3].
• Capital deepening: the Maritime Development Fund and Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme address the long gestation and cost disadvantage that keep private capital away [2][3].
• Trade competitiveness: cheaper, assured coastal and EXIM tonnage lowers logistics costs; the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 simplifies licensing to shift cargo to the cost-efficient sea mode [4].

Strategic autonomy

• Sealift assurance: an Indian-flagged fleet insulates critical imports such as crude and fertilisers from chartering shocks when chokepoints or shipping lanes are disrupted.
• Sanctions and freight-rate resilience: dependence on foreign carriers exposes trade to external pricing and compliance decisions beyond Indian jurisdiction.
• Regulatory sovereignty: the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, replacing the 1958 law, aligns Indian tonnage with IMO conventions while expanding eligibility for Indian ownership [5].
• Dual-use industrial base: yard capacity built for commercial tonnage sustains naval and coast guard construction, reinforcing indigenous defence capability.

Indigenous shipbuilding thus converts India's geographic advantage into economic and strategic depth. Sustained progress will require competitive yard productivity, stable long-term financing and a skilled seafaring workforce alongside the legislative reforms already enacted. Pursued together, these can carry India towards the MAKV 2047 goal of ranking among the world's top five shipbuilding nations [2], anchoring the wider vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.