PM Modi renames Ministry of Shipping as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has renamed the Ministry of Shipping as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways during a launch event of Ropax ferry service between Ghogha (Bhavnagar) and Hazira (near Surat) in Gujarat, via video conferencing. “The name of Ministry of Shipping is being changed to Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways,” said PM Modi said. The decision to change the name of the Shipping Ministry is part of government’s efforts to revamp the ports and create world-class Inland Water Transport.

“The Ministry of Shipping encompasses within its fold shipping and port sectors which include Shipbuilding, Ship-repair, Major Ports, National Waterways, and Inland Water Transport,” the ministry wrote in a blog published on its official website.

According to the ministry, “The capacity of the ports in terms of their berths and cargo handling equipment needs to be vastly improved to cater to the growing requirements of the overseas trade. The shipping industry needs to be enabled to carry higher shares of the sea-borne trade in indigenous bottoms.”