MoPSW Releases Draft Sagarmala Innovation & Startup Policy for Maritime Sector
- ByStartupStory | April 11, 2023
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has unveiled the draft Sagarmala Innovation and Startup Policy, seeking feedback from stakeholders. The policy aims to foster innovation and startups in the maritime sector by creating a conducive environment and leveraging technologies developed by local startups for ecosystem growth. The framework is designed to support private enterprises and promote homegrown innovation in the maritime industry.
With a focus on sustainable growth and job creation, the startup policy emphasizes collaboration between academic institutions, private sector, and the maritime industry. The framework aims to bring together various schemes and programs to foster innovative ideas and approaches to overcome challenges in areas such as operation, maintenance, and infrastructure development, and enhance efficiency in the ecosystem.
In addition, the initiative aims to allocate responsibilities and benefits among stakeholders while nurturing young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, lauded the startup policy as a step towards creating a robust ecosystem for fostering startups and innovation in India. He stated that the policy will promote entrepreneurship and enable startups to thrive and prosper through innovations, aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Modi’s Startup India initiative.
As part of the policy, the Ministry will provide grants and mentorship to startups for developing minimum viable products (MVP) and commercializing their technologies. It will also establish ‘Launch Pads’ at ports for trials and pilot projects. The policy includes provisions for working spaces and adoption of startup-made products at ports. Selection of startups for these benefits will be done through a transparent digital portal. Regulatory support will cover aspects such as tendering and subcontracting, with clarity needed on government contracts. Additionally, the government will provide legal and accounting support for patent filing, company registration, annual filings, and closures to support emerging startups.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) expressed pride in the success of the maritime sector under the Sagarmala project, which has harnessed opportunities for port-led development over 8 years. The newly introduced policy will further establish long-term action plans, networks, infrastructure, and resources to build a robust maritime innovation ecosystem, as stated in the ministry’s statement. This policy is part of the larger Sagarmala project, initiated in 2003 and sanctioned by the government in 2016, with the aim of transforming India’s logistics sector through investments in waterways, coastline, ports, and coastal economic zones to boost exports, imports, and the local logistics economy, involving billions of dollars for new port establishment and modernization of existing ones.
With a coastline of 7,500 km and 12 major ports along with 200 non-major ports, the maritime sector is responsible for 95% of India’s trade volume, as per the government. However, the domestic maritime space has faced challenges such as slow turnaround times, high capital expenditure requirements, and limited established players for global competition. To address these issues, the government aims to provide support to new players and reduce overall costs, which could have a positive impact on the entire logistics sector. This could further fuel the growth of the Indian logistics industry, which is projected to reach a market size of $650.52 billion by 2028, with dominance from tech startups and private players.
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