Oct 30 – India’s maritime sector is entering a phase of accelerated expansion and is expected to attract investments worth about ₹8 trillion and generate 1.5 crore new jobs by 2047, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said.
Speaking at the India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai, Puri said India’s economic rise was inseparable from its maritime strength, noting that the sector was now being driven by trade growth, innovation and deeper global partnerships. “The maritime sector is poised to attract ₹8 trillion of investment in trade, and 1.5 crore new jobs by 2047,” he said, adding that India was positioning itself as a key player in global shipping lanes.
He said the scale of India’s infrastructure build-out was now comparable to major global hubs. Citing his recent meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Puri said the first phase of the Noida International Airport at Jewar would be operational by the end of November and, together with Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, would handle passenger traffic surpassing that of London’s Heathrow and “many other airports combined.” He said this expansion in air connectivity would reinforce India’s trade, logistics and maritime ambitions.
Puri described India Maritime Week as a platform that brings together over 100 countries, 500 exhibitors and more than one lakh delegates to forge partnerships “that will define the next maritime century.” He said the event was also a celebration of India’s long seafaring tradition “from the dockyards of Lothal to the Chola fleets to the Maratha navies,” underscoring that maritime power had historically underpinned India’s commerce and defence.
Underscoring India’s growing external engagement, Puri said the country’s GDP now stands at about USD 4.3 trillion, with more than half of it linked to external sectors. “We cannot underestimate the importance of trade and shipping in our growing economy,” he said.
The week-long event was inaugurated on Monday by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah. It was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Shah said “this is India’s maritime moment,” arguing that sustained reforms over the past decade had transformed the country from operating the “Gateway of India” to aspiring to be the “Gateway of the World.” He pointed to India’s 11,000-kilometre coastline and 13 coastal states and Union Territories, which he said contribute nearly 60 per cent to the national GDP, to stress the strategic weight of maritime development.
