Major policy measures to transform the maritime profile of peninsular India are underway. A new maritime India indeed is evident going by the constructive activities around the coasts. Development of Indian infrastructure is essential for country’s economic development and growth. As India adopted growth-led economic policy, serious plans are afoot to develop a strong and long-term transport infrastructure and logistics. With advancement in exploration technology, deep-sea mining, huge potential for exploration of hydrocarbons, petroleum, natural gas, rare earth metals, the demand for ports and shipping services is one of the important maritime strategies.

Important policy moves are initiated by India in recent years to integrate shipping activities with inland transport networks. Sagarmala, Golden Quadrangle, East Coast Corridor are some of the latest policy decisions to build intermodal transportation for facilitating connectivity to the ports. Policy initiatives like the Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2016 would augment the Indian ship construction and modernisation effort. There are other major areas of concern in the sphere of maritime infrastructure that merit urgent policy attention in India. All the thirteen papers in this volume examine how India would address the various issues of India’s maritime infrastructure.

In the present-day environment – with the nation’s economic heft on the rise – we need to take much larger an interest to develop our maritime infrastructure, be it in developing our ports and harbours, or improving the indigenous ship-building industry, and the like. This volume has gone into these aspects at great length. I’m sure it will find good readership and will help the cause of national development.

— Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM, Former Chief of the Naval Staff; Chairman, National Maritime Foundation; High Commissioner of India for New Zealand

Thoughtful and perceptible effort in exploring the imperatives and challenges of the nation’s maritime infrastructure in a real time perspective. A three-dimensional outlook on maritime policy, industry and security by competent and scholarly contributors. The expositions will be useful for reference to planners, practitioners and researchers alike.

—  Dr. Prabhakaran Paleri, Former Director General, Indian Coast Guard

Dr. Adluri Subramanyam Raju, Coordinator, UGC Centre for Maritime Studies, Pondicherry                      University, Pondicherry, India