India's troubled shipping sector has been passing through tumultuous waters in recent years with over 40 per cent of the country’s fleet older than 20 years and about 12 per cent of them being 12-15 years old, says the Economic Survey 2015-16 , tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday. The decline in the Baltic Dry Index, a freight index that depicts the robustness of trade, from 10,720 in May 2008 to 386 in January 2016 “is a reflection of the slowdown in India’s and the world’s merchandise trade as well as of overseas shipping services,” according to the statement tabled in Parliament. "The shipping sector has been passing through tumultuous waters in recent years... There is urgent need to increase India's shipping fleet.
