India as a Regional Freight Corridor for Neighbours

Blue Economy + Nearshoring: 

How India Can Unlock Regional Trade - Even with Port Bottlenecks

                                       ----Author :Capt Gajanan Karanjikar,Blue Economy- activist, Marine expert,US based Consultant for Maritime

India as a Regional Freight Corridor for Neighbours

Nearshoring inside India doesn’t stop at India’s borders. With the right policy and operations, it becomes a regional trade corridor:

• Nepal & Bhutan: Depend on Kolkata/Haldia gateways and inland corridors; growing potential via inland waterway protocols and rail ICDs to shorten dwell and reduce trucking friction.
• Bangladesh: Coastal shipping agreement and protocol routes allow Indian ports on the east coast to act as consolidation and spillover hubs, especially for Bay of Bengal short-sea loops.
• Sri Lanka & Maldives: Short-sea feeders from Tuticorin/Cochin/Chennai can deliver consumables and project cargo faster and cheaper than long-haul sourcing.
• Myanmar & BIMSTEC links: East-coast hubs can support ASEAN-facing distribution, complementing the trilateral highway once logistics standards unify.
• MEA as the next ring: West-coast nearshoring makes India a launchpad to Middle East and East Africa, using frequent mainline calls and transshipment options.

In other words, nearshoring in India creates regional scale: Indian factories can supply the domestic market and act as a multi-country distribution base, which strengthens service frequencies and makes blue-economy services (coastal shipping, ship repair, bunkering) commercially sustainable.

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