Sarbananda Sonowal launches NSB website, receives annual reports at Sagar Samvad
The National Shipping Board (NSB) held its first ‘Sagar Samvad’ on Tuesday, using the day-long dialogue to press for a five-point roadmap, including to add 100 vessels to India’s foreign-dependent merchant fleet over the next five years, as expressed by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, during his speech.
The event, themed “Charting the Roadmap Towards Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047,” was held at the Civil Services Officers Institute on Vinay Marg and drew senior officials, shipowners, financiers and young cadets from India’s maritime training institutes. Sagar Samvad, which means “ocean dialogue,” carries the board’s motto as its theme line: “Wisdom in the Ocean, Progress in the Nation.”
The inaugural edition of Sagar Samvad was chaired by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who launched the board’s first official website. NSB Chairperson Sameer Kumar Khare used the session to submit the board’s annual report for 2025-26, subcommittee reports containing the policy advice for the Government to Sonowal, outlining the board’s work since its reconstitution in May 2025.
“Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, under the re-enacted Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and the new National Shipping Board Rules, the mandate has been renewed and strengthened. That is exactly why a platform like ‘Sagar Samvad’ matters — bringing policymakers, industry captains, technocrats and civil society into one room to argue, test ideas and build intellectual consensus in the open as per the highest tradition of a thriving democracy like India. That consensus, and nothing else, is what will carry us to an Atmanirbhar Shipping Bharat by 2047,” Sonowal added.
Later in the day, a session on “Maritime Labour Force— Opportunities and Challenges” was chaired by Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya.
Speaking on the session, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “India’s maritime sector has the potential to become a major engine of employment for our young workforce and position India as the world’s leading supplier of skilled seafarers.
Mandaviya emphasised that India must leverage the expanding global demand for skilled maritime professionals to create high-quality employment opportunities for its growing youth population.
The Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shantanu Thakur, presided over a panel discussion titled “Augmentation of Indian Tonnage: Opportunities and Challenges.” Also in attendance was Vijay Kumar, Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Sonowal also acknowledged the success of the Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme, worth Rs 10,000 crore, with global shipping major Maersk now ordering containers built on Indian soil.
