The India Maritime Week event, headlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, signalled government recognition that shipping is not just a business but a business with a strong strategic component. The Indian shipping sector had declined considerably over nearly two decades under the ideological framework of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, which weakened government support and diluted strategic intent for shipping. Barring port infrastructure, the Indian government seemed keen largely only on training and educating sea-farers so that they could continue to serve on foreign ships and bring in foreign exchange. The state-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), once a global leader in ship ownership, was allowed to decline. Favourable government policies, such as giving the company first rights to transport India’s oil, were withdrawn in the name of a level playing field and SCI barely escaped privatisation. But COVID-19 was a rude awakening. With India depending heavily on foreign-owned ships, it had little leverage to intervene in its own trade. Private Indian shipping was too small to step up fully. Post-pandemic, the government has realised that shipping, though a business, has much strategic importance, especially during times of disruption, war, and where protectionism and resurgent national interests of western countries rule trade. Recent government initiatives have sought to beef up the SCI’s fleet strength.