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By:

Rajeev Kejriwal

26 April 2026 at 1:28:42 pm

Water Can't Wait !

Nations are often judged by the monuments they build, the highways they inaugurate or the skylines they proudly showcase. Yet history has a quieter benchmark. It asks a far simpler question: Could every citizen drink clean water without anxiety? Everything else is secondary. Civilizations have risen beside rivers and disappeared because they failed to manage them. Water has never been merely a resource. It is the first condition of life, health, productivity and dignity. A nation may postpone...

Water Can't Wait !

Nations are often judged by the monuments they build, the highways they inaugurate or the skylines they proudly showcase. Yet history has a quieter benchmark. It asks a far simpler question: Could every citizen drink clean water without anxiety? Everything else is secondary. Civilizations have risen beside rivers and disappeared because they failed to manage them. Water has never been merely a resource. It is the first condition of life, health, productivity and dignity. A nation may postpone many ambitions, but it cannot postpone water. Bharat has made meaningful progress, but the uncomfortable truth remains, that we are still building the very arteries that should have been in place decades ago. Our potable water network is still at a nascent stage, demanding not celebration, but sustained resolve. The Jal Jeevan Mission and AMRUT brought unprecedented attention to drinking water infrastructure and transformed the national conversation around water security. They infused urgency into a challenge that had long been accepted as routine. Pipes were laid, treatment plants expanded and millions gained access to tap connections. These initiatives proved that when political will aligns with administrative execution, transformative change is possible. Yet infrastructure does not mature through isolated bursts of activity. It demands continuity. Momentum, once lost, is painfully slow to regain. The recent slowdown is more than administrative; it risks pausing a national purpose. Factories reduce output, contractors hesitate, investments stall and skilled manpower disperses. Every interruption today raises the cost of catching up tomorrow. Infrastructure thrives on continuity, not episodic enthusiasm. Development cannot be switched on and off like a tap. An unfinished pipeline is not simply an engineering gap. It is a reminder that development delayed is development denied. Perhaps the larger concern lies elsewhere. Water infrastructure rarely dominates political discourse because its success is almost invisible. It quietly prevents disease, reduces healthcare costs, frees women from the burden of collecting water, improves school attendance and strengthens economic productivity. Its failures, however, are unmistakable. They appear as dry taps, contaminated supplies, tanker queues and rapidly declining groundwater reserves. The finest public infrastructure is often the one people barely notice because it never fails. We celebrate airports, bridges and expressways because they are visible symbols of progress. But clean drinking water is a deeper achievement. It is the infrastructure that protects every other investment in society. Hospitals become less burdened, schools become more effective, industries become more productive and families become more secure when safe water is available consistently. The image is simple. A pipeline resembles an artery. When it carries clean water, communities thrive. When its construction slows, development itself loses rhythm. Bharat cannot afford that pause. Climate uncertainty is increasing. Urbanisation is accelerating. Groundwater is under growing stress. Population growth, industrial demand and changing rainfall patterns will only intensify the challenge. The question is no longer whether Bharat should invest more in water infrastructure. The real question is whether it can afford not to. This is precisely the moment to intensify effort—not dilute it. What the nation needs is substantial sustained investment, concentrated administrative thrust and unequivocal political attention towards universal access to potable water. Water infrastructure should not be viewed as a periodic government programme but as a permanent national mission that transcends political cycles. The destination is visible, but the journey is unfinished. Because history will not remember how many pipelines were sanctioned, tenders awarded or projects announced. It will remember whether every citizen finally received the dignity and security of clean drinking water.
Water is not expenditure. It is one of the highest-return investments a nation can make. Every rupee invested in clean drinking water returns many times over through better health, higher productivity, stronger economic growth and greater human dignity. When Bharat secures water, it secures its future. A nation that waits for a crisis before investing in water has already waited too long. (The writer is a bilingual author with five published titles to his credit.)

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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