India is actively engaging with leading South Korean shipbuilders, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwa Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries, to form technical collaborations and joint ventures. This effort is part of India's ambitious shipbuilding policy, which is expected to gain Cabinet approval soon. A high-level delegation led by T.K. Ramachandran, Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, recently visited South Korea to study its advanced shipbuilding techniques and discuss potential partnerships. The team included R. Lakshmanan, Joint Secretary, Madhu Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard, and Capt. B.K. Tyagi, Chairman and Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of India. Officials described the meetings as highly positive, with South Korean shipyards expressing a strong interest in collaboration. Formal agreements are anticipated during Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's visit to South Korea in March 2025. Meanwhile, South Korean representatives have already engaged with India, including Hanwa Ocean executives attending a July meeting and Export–Import Bank of Korea officials visiting in October to explore maritime collaborations. India's shipbuilding sector faces challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure for constructing large vessels like VLCCs and LNG carriers, extended construction timelines, and limited technical expertise. Collaborative initiatives with South Korean shipyards aim to address these gaps by improving ship design, production efficiency, automation, and technology transfer. Pilot projects involving top Indian shipyards could serve as models for wider implementation. The government is also working on a comprehensive shipbuilding policy that includes a fixed subsidy scheme for vessel construction, ship recycling credits, and the establishment of maritime clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha. The policy will also create a Rs 250 billion Maritime Development Fund to support shipyard expansion and new ventures. India currently holds less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market but aims to rank among the top 10 by 2030 and the top 5 by 2047. With global demand for over 50,000 ships in the next 30 years, driven by green technology transitions, India is positioning itself to capture a significant share of the market. The government estimates that India could address 20-25% of the global shipbuilding market, representing a $237 billion opportunity over the next 25 years. Expanding domestic shipbuilding capacity would reduce reliance on imports, generate jobs, and strengthen India’s economy. The focus is on building a robust ecosystem to capitalize on this potential and integrate shipbuilding into the country's broader economic growth strategy. (ET)