India’s Centre Proposes Indian Ports Bill 2025 as Repeal of Over 117-Year-Old Legislatie to Lok Sabha
New Delhi, March 29, 2025: Today the Union Government has placed before the Lok Sabha will be Bill for Indian Ports (Amendments) Bill,2025 to update and consolidate the laws relating to ports in India. The fresh law aims to repeal the 117 year old Indian Ports act, 2008. The bill was introduced in parliament by the Union Minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowald.
The main aim of the Indian Ports Bill, 2025 is to promote co-ordination between ports for ensuring integrated development, ease of doing business in maritime sector along with a balanced usage of India’s stretching coastline. Another one is to set up and activate State Maritime Board for efficient operation and expansion of ports other than major ports under central government through a bill.
Important Clauses Of The Act
- Unification of Laws: Law is being introduced to bring together the existing port’s legislative provisions, which will bring some much-needed uniformity in the governing framework.
- State Maritime Boards: This creates an umbrella of the State Maritime Board to look into the administration and development of minor ports under state control.
- Maritime State Development Council: The bill introduces Maritime State Development Council to advise the central government on planning and development of the whole port sector country-wide so that central folks help states out while latter respond.
- Pollution and Disaster Management (Aligned to the current environmental problems the country is facing; this provision contains provisions relating effective pollution control, disaster response and emergencies at ports) Type of Ports: The bill provides for classification a major port or non-major port as ‘mega ports’ on the basis of policy to be determined by the Central Government.
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Rationale Behind the Bill:
The Indian government said that the 1908 Indian Ports Act is outdated and fails to sufficiently map contemporary needs with respect to the dynamic port sector that India faces today. The new bill is supposed to embody contemporary arrangements, mirror India’s international law commitments, take account of emerging environmental concerns and help consultative growth of ports in the national interest.
Concerns Raised:
Critics speaking during the introduction in The Lok Sabha about the centralizing tendency of port related powers in a bill it said “already power to state governments over ports is limited; Hijacking the powers of states in distributing powers between Central & state” Meanwhile our observation on advertence bill the requirement regulation private ports getting higher in number and their management someday… Indian Ports Bill 2021 is a crucial move towards modernization of infrastructure and port governance in India.
The law is widely regarded as a milestone in lifting the Indian port infrastructure and governance well above Subcontinent standards. The bill is going to have a far-reaching impact on seaborne trade & growth of the country. The bill is now likely to be put through its legislative journey under further chambers.
