Maritime State Development Council meets as a statutory body for the first time under Ports Act 2025
Key facts
- The 21st Maritime State Development Council met in Mumbai on 13 October 2026. It was chaired by Sarbananda Sonowal.
- This was its first meeting since it became a statutory consultative body under the Indian Ports Act, 2025. The Council began in 1997.
- All ports must adopt One Nation One Port Process reforms and join the Maritime Single Window (Sagar Setu) by March 2027.
- The Centre also launched two shipbuilding credit-risk insurance policies, with government-subsidised premiums.
Why it matters
[Policy] A body set up by executive order in 1997 now has a legal base. It links the Centre with coastal states on ports, a subject shared across Union and State lists. States must notify rules under Section 77 within three months. The deadlines make this a test of cooperative federalism. Use it in GS-2 on Centre-State relations and GS-3 on infrastructure.
Test yourself
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