UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India Emerges as World's Second-Largest Supplier of Seafarers
Q1. Which one of the following statements about India's standing in the global seafaring workforce, as reported in the Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, is correct?
- A. India is the world's largest supplier of officers, though it remains only the second-largest supplier of ratings
- B. India is the second-largest supplier overall, and its share of the world's officers exceeds its share of the world's ratings
- C. India is the second-largest supplier overall, and its share of the world's ratings exceeds its share of the world's officers
- D. India has overtaken the Philippines in the supply of ratings, while continuing to trail it in the supply of officers
Q2. The registration, examination and certification of Indian seafarers, whose numbers underlie India's 2026 global seafarer supply ranking, is carried out by which one of the following?
- A. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- B. The Indian Coast Guard, functioning under the Ministry of Defence
- C. The Directorate General of Shipping, functioning under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
- D. The National Skill Development Corporation, functioning under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Q3. In the country-wise seafarer supply statistics used to track India's rise from a 5.2% share in 2015 to a 12.16% share in 2026, the term 'ratings' denotes:
- A. Exclusively the engine-room personnel of a merchant vessel, all of whom are graded separately from the deck complement
- B. Members of a ship's crew other than those holding a certificate of competency as an officer, forming the supporting shipboard workforce
- C. Grades assigned to a vessel's hull and machinery by a classification society, which every flag State is bound to accept
- D. Scores awarded to candidate officers at each certificate-of-competency examination, on which all promotions are based
Q4. The comparative country-wise seafarer supply and demand estimates on the basis of which India's rank moved from fifth in 2015 to second in 2026 are published under the authority of:
- A. The International Labour Organization, the single body with which every seafarer is registered under the Maritime Labour Convention
- B. The International Maritime Organization alone, which directly certifies all of the world's serving seafarers
- C. BIMCO jointly with the International Chamber of Shipping, in their periodic Seafarer Workforce Report
- D. UNCTAD, whose Review of Maritime Transport enumerates all crew serving on every flagged vessel
Q5. 'Mission 20%', announced in 2026 in the context of India's maritime workforce, sets which one of the following as its headline goal?
- A. Raising the share of women in India's seafaring workforce to one-fifth of the total
- B. Sustaining a 20% year-on-year growth in shipboard employment of Indian seafarers
- C. Making one in every five of the world's seafarers an Indian national
- D. Bringing one-fifth of global merchant fleet tonnage under the Indian flag
Q6. The goal of raising India's share of the global seafaring workforce to 20% is to be operationalised primarily by which one of the following?
- A. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, which alone approves all maritime training courses in India
- B. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, acting through the Directorate General of Shipping
- C. The Ministry of External Affairs, the sole issuing authority for every Indian seafarer's certificate of competency
- D. The Indian Maritime University, the only body empowered to certify all Indian seafarers for foreign-flag service
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding India's maritime legislation enacted in 2025 and the laws they superseded:
1. The Bills of Lading Act, 2025 replaced the Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856.
2. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 2025 repealed the Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925 and gives effect to the Hague-Visby Rules.
3. The Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 replaced the Indian Ports Act, 1908 in its entirety.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Bills of Lading Act, 2025 replaced the Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856.
- The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 2025 repealed the Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925 and gives effect to the Hague-Visby Rules.
- The Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 replaced the Indian Ports Act, 1908 in its entirety.
- A. 2 and 3 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. Consider the following provisions:
1. A simplified licensing regime for vessels engaged in the coasting trade of India.
2. Mandatory preparation of a National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan.
3. Creation of a national database for coastal shipping providing regularly updated data.
4. Constitution of the Maritime State Development Council as a statutory body with a National Perspective Plan.
Which of the above are correctly identified as provisions of the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025?
- A simplified licensing regime for vessels engaged in the coasting trade of India.
- Mandatory preparation of a National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan.
- Creation of a national database for coastal shipping providing regularly updated data.
- Constitution of the Maritime State Development Council as a statutory body with a National Perspective Plan.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q9. Consider the following targets attributed to the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047:
1. Attaining about 4 million GRT of shipbuilding capacity.
2. Attaining about 10 billion metric tonnes of annual port handling capacity.
3. Placing India among the world's top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.
4. Making India the world's single largest supplier of seafarers by 2030, displacing the Philippines.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Attaining about 4 million GRT of shipbuilding capacity.
- Attaining about 10 billion metric tonnes of annual port handling capacity.
- Placing India among the world's top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.
- Making India the world's single largest supplier of seafarers by 2030, displacing the Philippines.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q10. Consider the following statements about India's long-term maritime planning frameworks:
1. Development of five green hydrogen/ammonia hubs and over 1,000 green vessels in the country by 2029 is among the initiatives pursued under them.
2. The Cruise Bharat Mission, which aims to double cruise passenger traffic by 2029, is among the initiatives pursued under them.
3. The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 was formulated through over 150 stakeholder consultations and an analysis of 50 global benchmarks, and outlines over 300 strategic initiatives.
4. Maritime India Vision 2030 stood repealed on the adoption of the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, whose 10 themes replaced its initiatives.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- Development of five green hydrogen/ammonia hubs and over 1,000 green vessels in the country by 2029 is among the initiatives pursued under them.
- The Cruise Bharat Mission, which aims to double cruise passenger traffic by 2029, is among the initiatives pursued under them.
- The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 was formulated through over 150 stakeholder consultations and an analysis of 50 global benchmarks, and outlines over 300 strategic initiatives.
- Maritime India Vision 2030 stood repealed on the adoption of the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, whose 10 themes replaced its initiatives.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q11. Which one of the following correctly describes the institutional arrangement for the training and certification of Indian seafarers?
- A. Institutes are approved by the Indian Maritime University, and certification follows the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
- B. Institutes are approved by the Ministry of Education, and certification follows the IMO's MARPOL Convention, 1973
- C. Institutes are approved by the Directorate General of Shipping, and certification follows the IMO's STCW Convention, 1978
- D. Institutes are approved by the Directorate General of Shipping, and certificates are issued by the Indian Register of Shipping under SOLAS, 1974
Q12. Consider the following:
1. Port modernisation and new port development
2. Enhancement of port connectivity, including multi-modal logistics linkages
3. Coastal community development through skill development and livelihood support
4. Exploration of deep-sea polymetallic nodules and deep-ocean mineral mining
Which of the above are correctly identified as components (pillars) of the Sagarmala Programme?
- Port modernisation and new port development
- Enhancement of port connectivity, including multi-modal logistics linkages
- Coastal community development through skill development and livelihood support
- Exploration of deep-sea polymetallic nodules and deep-ocean mineral mining
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4