New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Indian Ports Bill, 2025-which attempts to replace the Indian Ports Act, 1908 of the colonial-era and to regulate the port operation with quality efforts, stability and cooperative federations, so that India to make India a global sea leader by 2047-The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.Port, shipping and waterway Sarbananda Sonowal described the bill as “a milestone improvement that unlocks India’s maritime capacity.” He said, “The ports are not just entrances to the goods, they are engines of development, employment and sustainable development. With Indian port bills, 2025, India is not only playing catch-up, but is laying a foundation to become a global maritime leader by 2047,” he said before a voice vote was passed.Prior to the discussion on the Bill, the demand of OPPN for a debate on the head was rejected by Chair Samsamit Patra on the basis that the case was sub-judic and not related to the listed business. House leader JP Nadda accused him of not interested in the discussion in protest and wasting more than 69 hours of the house with his irresponsible behavior.“The opposition only believes in chaos and obstruction,” Nadda said.Once the opposition benches were empty, it was a smooth sailing for the Indian port bills. Almost all the speakers-Mokaria Ram Bhai, Rekha Sharma, M Thumbdurai, Sunitra Ajit Power, Prafulr Patel, BP Bishya, etc.-The archaic 1908 law emphasizes the need to replace the law with a modern piece of law, which promotes port connectivity, environment-friendly port operations.When Thumbi Durai accused the constraint’s movement through the state government-managed ports in Tamil Nadu, the DMK MP led by Tiruchi Shiva, who had gone out earlier, came back to the house. This cited BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra to violate the rule that an MP should honor the chair while entering the house and while leaving. “This is not a whole (guest house),” he complained.While responding to the debate, Sonowal said that unlike the Congress rule, which had no policy related to ports and shipping, the Narendra Modi government had passed 11 laws in the region in the last 11 years.“In 2013-14, during the UPA rule, our cargo handling capacity was 5 million metric tons (MMT). In the last 10 years, it has gone up to 855 MMT,” he said.
