Nishanthi asked- Who is responsible for formulating the maritime policy of India? What institutions/ministries are involved in the process?

S.S. Parmar replies: Formulation of any policy is part of the overall national strategy. National strategy depends on a variety of tangible and intangible fields. These fields would collectively and at times individually have a bearing on the national interests. Therefore, the responsibility of formulating any national policy lies with the government. As far as maritime policy is concerned, a plethora of ministries and agencies would contribute to the maritime policy. Broadly, a policy could be broken into three parts – economics, security and diplomacy.

The broad ambit of the maritime domain entails the involvement of a number of agencies, such as the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, mercantile marine, ship building industry, Department of Ocean Development, fisheries department, Oil and National Gas Commission (ONGC), hydrographic department, diplomatic corps, department of surface transport, Antarctic exploration wing - in essence any department which either deals with or has interest in coastal, oceanic or overseas activities. In order to implement steps that would ensure a cogent working of the policy, these departments which are part of the government are responsible for forwarding their cases, depending on the financial implications, to the concerned ministries that take up the cases for approval with the concerned financial body. In India’s case, it would be parliamentary committees.