In a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today the Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya informed that the tonnage capacity in the country is as per details given below:

(In million tonnes)

Period	Number of vessels	GT	DWT
As on 31.03.2017	1316	11,562	17,278
As on 31.03.2018	1,384	12,582	19,082
As on 31.03.2019	1,407	12,789	19,387

The minister informed that in order to increase tonnage capacity of Indian shipping industry, Government has taken a number of steps. These include:-

i. Providing Indian shipping industry cargo support through Right of First Refusal 

ii. Reducing GST from 18% to 5% on bunker fuel used in Indian flag vessels 

iii. Allowing carriage of coastal cargo from one Indian port to another Indian port via foreign ports in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

iv. Removing licensing requirement for chartering of foreign registered ships by citizens of India, companies incorporated in India and Registered Societies to encourage coastal movement of agriculture and other commodities, fertilizer, EXIM Transshipment Containers and Empty containers

v. Bringing parity in the tax regime of Indian seafarers employed on Indian flag ships vis-à-vis those on foreign flag ships

vi. Allowing shipping enterprises based in India to acquire ships abroad and flag them in the country of their convenience

vii. Allowing use of imported Containers for carrying of domestic cargo and allowing use of locally manufactured or domesticated containers conforming to the specifications from the International Organization (ISO), for transportation of EXIM cargo:

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NB/MS

Tonnage capacity increase through regulatory and fiscal measures expands Indian shipping competitiveness and domestic flagging options. Measures to increase national shipping tonnage focus on regulatory liberalisation, fiscal incentives, and operational facilitation to strengthen the Indian-flag fleet. Policy actions include cargo preference through Right of First Refusal, reduced GST on bunker fuel for Indian-flag vessels, permission to carry coastal cargo via specified foreign ports, removal of licensing for chartering foreign-registered ships by Indian entities, tax parity for seafarers, permission for overseas ship acquisition and foreign flagging, and allowance for imported and ISO-conformant local containers for cargo transport.