More than 90% of India's trade by volume moves by sea, but only a small share of it travels on Indian-flagged ships. That gap is what turns into the roughly USD 75 billion paid every year to foreign carriers - an outflow on the services side of the current account that grows whenever global freight rates spike. Adding tonnage under the Indian flag is therefore an external-sector question as much as a transport one: it cushions the balance of payments, secures the movement of strategic cargo such as crude oil and fertiliser inputs, and builds work for Indian seafarers and shipyards. The Board's diagnosis is that the obstacle is cost, not appetite - taxes on ship imports, service taxes on maintenance, wage-related levies and costlier domestic capital together make an Indian flag 16-20% dearer - which is why its roadmap leads with fiscal and financing reform rather than with subsidies for buying ships.