Blue Cities

Syllabus- Economy [GS Paper-3]

04/11/2025

118 3 minutes read

Image Credit: Brent Haywood Photography

The major seaports around the globe are becoming blue cities.

Blue Cities are coastal or port cities that combine economic activities based on the ocean and the development of the city in a sustainable manner.
The idea is based on the notion of a Blue Economy – utilizing ocean resources to achieve economic development without harming the well-being of marine life.

India has a 11,098.81 km long coast, 13 major ports, 200 + non-major ports.
The decarbonisation drive (IMO 2050) needs an investment of 1-3 trillion – a huge prospect of India to incorporate green shipping funding and technology.
IMO is a global initiative aimed at mitigating the emission of greenhouse gasses, which is mainly achieved through the abandonment of fossil fuels in favor of clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
India has the potential to connect GIFT City financial tools to the port development to finance the green and digital maritime projects.

There are major ports (central government controlled) as well as minor ports (state government controlled).
- - 13 Major Ports
  - 217 Non-major (Minor/Intermediate) Ports.
  - The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is the manager of the ports.
Strategic Position: India is a major trading centre and an emerging global power with its positioning being along the busiest shipping routes in the world.
Overview of Maritime Sector in India: India’s maritime sector touches a volume and value of 95 and 70 percent of the total trade in the country with port infrastructure being crucial to the economy.
Port Ranking Upgrade: India has enhanced its port ranking by 54th in the year 2014 and now there are 9 Indian ports in the top 100 ports of the world.
Expansion in Cargo-handling: Cargo-handling capacity of the major ports has expanded by 87.01 between 2014-15 and 2023-24.
Significance of Maritime Sector: India is the 16 th biggest maritime country, holds strategic space in the world shipping, and major trade routes/ways transit through its waters.
Future Objectives: India has planned to invest US 82 billion in port infrastructural projects by the year 2035 in order to enhance the maritime industry.

Infrastructure Constraints: At certain ports, the infrastructure is not sufficient and the facilities are old-fashioned, which restricts capacity and efficiency.
Congestion: Large volumes of traffic within the major ports resulting into delays, high turnaround times and low productivity.
Environmental Concerns: There are environmental health concern issues such as pollution and sustainability such as ship and port emissions.
Logistics Bottlenecks: Ineffective transport connectivity in ports, roads and railways, which affects free flow of cargo.
Global Competition: The increased competition by other global seaports of the world, requires constant investments and modernization.

Sagarmala Programme: It is committed towards taking advantage of the coastline and navigable waterways in India.
- - Funds port infrastructure and coastal growth, and connectivity.
  - Funding of such projects as coastal berths, rail/road connectivity, fish harbours, and cruise terminals.
Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030): It is targeted that by 2030, India should establish itself as a top 10 shipbuilding country and develop a world-class, efficient and sustainable maritime ecosystem.
- - The number of initiatives is 150 or more in 10 major maritime sectors.
Inland Waterways Development: 26 new national waterways discovered by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
- - Offers alternative and sustainable transport, relieving road/rail congestion.
Green Tug Transition Program (GTTP): The objective of the program is to substitute the fuel powered harbour tugs with environmentally friendly and sustainable powered tugs with fuel.
- - By 2040 transition to be made in major ports.
Sagarmanthan Dialogue: A yearly maritime strategic dialogue to establish India as the global hub of maritime discussions.
Maritime Development Fund: Rs 25,000 crore fund to be used in long-term funding, which will be used to modernize ports and shipping infrastructure to promote private investment.
Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP 2.0): Revised to allow Indian shipyards to compete with the world.