New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced three major schemes with a combined investment of over Rs 70,000 crore to strengthen India's shipbuilding industry and reduce dependence on foreign vessels.

The move aims to position India among the world's top 10 nations in shipbuilding and ship ownership while boosting the share of global cargo handled at Indian ports three-fold.

Currently, India ranks 16th globally in both shipbuilding and ship ownership. Only 7 per cent of Indian-owned ships are built domestically, while the share of export-import (EXIM) cargo carried by Indian ships has dropped from 41 per cent in FY1988 to just 5 per cent in FY2023.

This reliance on foreign shipping services costs India nea...