Maritime State Development Council: Ports Act 2025, ONOP

🗞️ Why in News The 21st Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) concluded in Mumbai on 13 October 2026, chaired by Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways. It was the Council’s first meeting since its recognition as a statutory consultative body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025; the Council was established in its statutory form by a notification of 15 May 2026. The Council approved draft MSDC Regulations and Guidelines on port data and tariff transparency, instructed States and Union Territories to notify rules under Section 77 within three months, and resolved that the One Nation One Port Process (ONOP) reforms and integration with the Maritime Single Window (Sagar Setu) reach all ports by March 2027. Two credit risk insurance products for shipbuilding were also launched.

What the Council Decided

The meeting brought together the Ministers of coastal States and the administrators of Union Territories, the chairpersons of Major Ports, including Deendayal, JNPA, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Kamarajar and Mormugao, and bodies such as the Inland Waterways Authority of India, NITI Aayog, the Navy and the Coast Guard. The main decisions:

Sonowal also launched a Ready Reckoner for Implementing ONOP, which refers to circulars of the CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

From Advisory Forum to Statutory Council

The MSDC was established in 1997 and described by the Ministry as “the apex advisory body for the development of India’s maritime sector”. Its aim was “to promote the integrated growth of Major and Non-Major ports in close coordination with State governments”. For almost three decades it worked without a statute behind it.

That changed with the Indian Ports Act, 2025 (Act No. 27 of 2025):

• It received the President’s assent on 21 August 2025.
• Under section 1(2), it comes into force on a date the Centre appoints by notification. S.O. 1499(E), dated 23 March 2026, appointed 1 April 2026.
• Section 85(1) repealed the Indian Ports Act, 1908.
• Section 3(1) says the Central Government “shall, by notification, establish” a Council “to be called the Maritime State Development Council”. S.O. 2524(E), dated 15 May 2026, established it with effect from its publication in the Gazette.

Who sits on the Council (Section 3(2), all ex officio)

Members receive no remuneration (section 3(5)), and membership is not an office of profit (section 3(6)). Section 3 leaves the Council’s procedure, and whom the Chairperson may invite, to be specified by regulations.

What the Council does (Section 6)

Under section 6(1)(a), the Council makes recommendations to the Government on the adequacy of the legal framework, the growth of and competition in the port sector, and port connectivity. Under section 6(1)(b)(i), it advises on the formulation of the national perspective plan referred to in section 12, and it issues guidelines on port data. Its role is consultative: its outputs are recommendations, advice and guidelines.

What the States Must Do: Section 77 and the Deadlines

Section 77(1) reads: “The State Government may, by notification in the State Gazette and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.” The rule-making power sits with the State Government, not with the Council. What the Council did on 13 October was to instruct all States and Union Territories to notify these rules within three months.

The other deadlines are targets set by resolution:

1. ONOP reforms are “to be implemented across all ports by March 2027”.
2. All ports “shall integrate with the Maritime Single Window (MSW - Sagar Setu) by March 2027”.
3. States and State Maritime Boards were urged to prepare Port Master Plans for Other Than Major Ports.

The Act also lets the Centre, “in consultation with the State Government”, specify criteria to classify a port as a mega port (section 73(1)); a mega port keeps its status as either a major port or a port other than a major port (section 73(4)). For context, four ports were classified under this section on 25 September 2026 (Current Affairs Today, 26 September 2026).

ONOP and the Maritime Single Window

The One Nation-One Port Process (ONOP) was launched in February 2025 as “an initiative to standardise and streamline operations across India’s major ports”. By December 2025 the Ministry was describing it as a framework “to ensure uniformity in port processes across all ports in the country”. The 13 October resolution puts a date on that: its three reforms, One Nation One Documentation, Port Process Re-engineering and Inter-ministerial Process Reforms, are to be in place at all ports by March 2027.

The digital side is Sagar Setu, the National Logistics Portal, which the ONOP framework is being aligned to upgrade. By way of background, in a Rajya Sabha reply of 9 December 2025, the Government said the platform “integrates key stakeholders such as Port Authorities, Customs, Immigration, Port Health Organisations, Directorate General of Shipping”, and that implementing the framework was “expected to reduce 33% of the documentation”.

The Council also mandated electronic publication of port tariffs, alongside its guidelines on tariff transparency.

Shipbuilding: Two Credit Risk Insurance Products

Sonowal explained the purpose plainly: “a single missed milestone payment could stall an entire shipyard’s operations.” The two products, which the Ministry calls “first-of-their-kind”, were developed under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) and fall under the National Shipbuilding Mission.

The Government of India will subsidise insurance premiums and provide direct support to insurers in case shipyards file claims.

• ECGC Ltd. is wholly owned by the Government of India and was set up in 1957 to promote exports by providing credit risk insurance and related services.
• NIACL describes itself as the “largest public sector General Insurance Company of India”.

The package behind it

In September 2025 the Union Cabinet approved a ₹69,725 crore package to revitalise shipbuilding and the maritime sector:

The three funded components add up to the package: 24,736 + 25,000 + 19,989 = 69,725 crore. In Mumbai the Council resolved to use the Maritime Development Fund, the Shipbuilding Development Scheme and the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Programme to develop shipbuilding, ship-repair and recycling clusters.

Visions, Plans and Port-led Growth

• Two visions adopted. The Council adopted the targets of the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which “together identify over 500 initiatives across ports, shipping, inland waterways, shipbuilding, green shipping and global collaboration”. The 2047 vision builds on the 2030 one and alone outlines “more than 300 actionable initiatives”; it was launched by the Prime Minister at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai.
• National Perspective Plan. The Council endorsed its priorities and urged fast-tracking of multimodal connectivity.
• Connectivity. Sagarmala connectivity projects are to be prioritised, the National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan implemented, and a modal shift to coastal shipping promoted. Cruise infrastructure was endorsed.
• Why it matters. The maritime sector supports “nearly 95% of the nation’s trade by volume and 70% by value”, in the Cabinet’s words of September 2025.

Cooperative Federalism in Maritime Governance

Sonowal called the meeting “cooperative federalism in maritime governance, delivering for our ports and for port-led industrialisation.” The design explains the phrase. The Union Minister chairs, but every coastal State’s ports minister sits on the Council by law, so national plans such as ONOP and the National Perspective Plan are taken up with the States, which were also asked to prepare master plans for Other Than Major Ports.

The limits are just as clear:

• Recommendatory powers. The Council’s statutory functions are recommendations and advice; outcomes depend on States acting.
• Rules first. Section 77 rules are made by each State Government; the three-month instruction is the first test of the new forum.
• Targets, not results. ONOP and the Sagar Setu integration are due by March 2027; the draft MSDC Regulations are still drafts.
• Insurance on paper. The premium subsidy is a commitment; uptake by shipyards will show whether milestone-payment risk actually falls.

Way forward (Mains): notify Section 77 rules within the deadline; finalise the MSDC Regulations; bring every port, major or not, onto Sagar Setu; publish tariffs electronically everywhere; and back port-linked industrial clusters with land, plug-and-play infrastructure and fast-tracked approvals, as the Council itself proposed.

UPSC Relevance

GS Paper 3: Infrastructure (ports); shipbuilding and the maritime economy; ease of doing business and logistics.

GS Paper 2: Centre-State relations and cooperative federalism; statutory bodies.

Prelims: Indian Ports Act, 2025 (Act No. 27 of 2025); section 3 (MSDC), section 6 (functions), section 73 (mega ports), section 77 (State rules), section 85 (repeal of the 1908 Act); ONOP; Sagar Setu; SbDS, SBFAS, MDF; SbPCP and BCSPS; ECGC Ltd.

Mains question: The Maritime State Development Council has moved from an advisory forum to a statutory body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025. Examine how it can strengthen cooperative federalism in port governance, and discuss the challenges in meeting the deadlines it has set for States. (GS2, GS3 · 250 words)

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

• 21st MSDC: 13 October 2026, Mumbai, chaired by Union Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal; the first meeting as a statutory body.
• MSDC established in 1997 as the apex advisory body for India’s maritime sector.
• Indian Ports Act, 2025 (Act No. 27 of 2025): assent 21 August 2025; in force 1 April 2026; repealed the Indian Ports Act, 1908.
• S.O. 2524(E), 15 May 2026 established the Council under section 3(1).
• Chairperson: Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Member Secretary: Secretary, MoPSW.
• Section 77: the State Government makes rules by notification in the State Gazette; States told to notify them within three months.
• ONOP reforms and Sagar Setu (Maritime Single Window) integration: all ports, by March 2027.
• SbPCP (ECGC Ltd., export projects); BCSPS (NIACL, domestic projects); both under the National Shipbuilding Mission.
• Shipbuilding package, September 2025: ₹69,725 crore = SBFAS ₹24,736 crore + MDF ₹25,000 crore + SbDS ₹19,989 crore.
• ECGC Ltd.: wholly owned by the Government of India, set up in 1957.

Prelims, the traps:

• 15 May 2026 is the notification that established the Council, not the Act’s commencement; the Act has been in force since 1 April 2026.
• The MSDC recommends and advises; the power to make rules under Section 77 lies with the State Government, not the Council.
• ONOP and Sagar Setu by March 2027 are targets; the MSDC Regulations were approved in draft.
• “Over 500 initiatives” counts both visions together; Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 alone has more than 300.
• A mega port (section 73) keeps its status as a major port or a port other than a major port.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

• Cooperative federalism in maritime governance; port-led industrialisation; single window; plug-and-play infrastructure; modal shift to coastal shipping.
• Way forward: Section 77 rules on time, every port on Sagar Setu, premium support that reaches shipyards, land and approvals for port-linked industrial clusters.

Interview, be ready for:

• “Is a statutory Council better than an advisory one?” A legal footing under section 3 and deadlines for States, against powers that remain recommendatory.

Revision Flowchart

Sources: PIB, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, 21st Maritime State Development Council, 13 October 2026; The Indian Ports Act, 2025, Gazette of India Extraordinary, August 2025; S.O. 2524(E), May 2026; S.O. 1499(E), March 2026; PIB, Cabinet shipbuilding package, September 2025; PIB, 20th MSDC, September 2024; PIB, ONOP, February 2025; PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, December 2025; PIB, Year End Review, January 2024.

Source: Maritime State Development Council: Ports Act 2025, ONOP — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs