A Boost for India's Economic Sovereignity, says Admiral Karambir Singh (retd)

Firstly, it is a part of the Andaman and Nicobar [A&N] group of islands which, in their entirety, are of strategic significance for India. Lying almost 1,200 km from India’s east coast, these islands sit astride the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The location of these islands offers India a maritime connection not only with the littoral states in the Bay of Bengal but also with countries in Southeast Asia. Any threat to India’s interests emanating at, or from, the sea would obviously manifest in this area. Therefore, it is from the A&N islands—which could veritably be called the ‘eastern sentinel’ of India—that the first response to such a threat must be made. The relatively slower development of infrastructure in the A&N islands, especially in the Nicobar group, as compared with the rest of India, had been a cause for concern in the past from a national-security perspective.

Second, a large port in the Great Nicobar island would enable the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard to deploy ships for surveillance and maritime security missions more frequently and for longer durations. These deployments not only enhance India’s maritime security but also contribute to regional security.

Third, the Great Nicobar island is situated a mere 70 km from the Six Degree Channel, which is part of one of the most important international shipping lane [ISL] that passes through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore. This favourably positions India to more effectively monitor international shipping traffic transiting the Indian Ocean and respond to any contingencies that might develop therein.

The most important component of this project is the International Container Transshipment Terminal [ICTT] that is proposed to be built. This facility, if commercially viable, would reduce the dependency of India’s maritime trade on foreign transshipment ports, save a substantial amount of foreign exchange and promote foreign trade. From a national security angle, which encompasses economic security, it would be the most important advantage that would accrue to India.

Ships passing through the Strait of Malacca via the Six Degree Channel would be well within shore-based surveillance capability of the Great Nicobar island, including coastal radar and automatic identification system (AIS) stations. The ICTT could also provide operational turnaround facilities such as berthing, fuel and other logistics for the Navy and the Coast Guard. Similarly, the greenfield international airport could also facilitate operations by maritime-surveillance aircraft.

The project would bolster our existing maritime domain awareness in the area, which would ensure safety and security of this critical ISL. Since the Great Nicobar island is the southernmost location in India, it would also significantly enhance the range of operation of our ships and aircraft to the South. At the same time, these facilities would also reduce our response time for contingencies such as maritime search and rescue, ships in distress due to fire, flooding or other accidents, piracy and armed robbery, among others.

The project takes advantage of the island’s location with respect to the major ISL passing through the Malacca Strait, as also natural depth around the island which favours a deep-water port. These two factors, among others, make for an ideal transshipment port location, which could be economically beneficial for both mega-shipping operators as well as our country. Although China has been building up its presence in the Indian Ocean, the Great Nicobar Project is driven purely by India’s own maritime interests.

I would say that the primary driver is commerce. There is also a secondary military component. Whilst India already has military facilities on the island, this project would make military operations more effective by enabling operation of more capable military assets. Although the commercial infrastructure—the airport and the ICTT—could also support military operations, the objective of the project remains mainly commercial. Currently, 75 per cent of India’s transshipment cargo moves through Colombo and Singapore. The government forecasts that the ICTT could bring in as much as Rs 30,000 crore in annual revenue by 2040 and create about 50,000 jobs. As a regional transshipment hub, the project’s commercial value far outweighs all other incidental advantages that might accrue from it.

The scale of the Great Nicobar Project is such that it would need a substantial skilled human resource base—technical as well as administrative—for its operationalisation. Currently, this human resource is not available on the island. The 2011 census data recorded a population of 8,367, which is currently estimated to be around 11,000. Further, the local population is not trained and skilled for port and airport operations as well as for running the ancillary services such as the power plants, transportation and medical facilities.

The Great Nicobar island is not planned to have a major logistics and maintenance hub for the armed forces. The South Andaman island is more suited for this because it is much larger in area and population and already accommodates the headquarters of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. As far as the use of Indian ports by friendly foreign navies is concerned, this is already being done on a case-to-case basis.

The infrastructure proposed to be developed in the Great Nicobar island could provide the armed forces with facilities to operate from the island. The missions that the armed forces would undertake in a crisis would depend upon its nature and could include surveillance, trade protection, monitoring of ISLs, air defence, sea denial, etc to name a few. The facilities at the Great Nicobar island would be in addition to those that already exist in the A&N islands, including those that have been created exclusively for defence purposes.

This project would provide greater impetus to India’s ongoing initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. On the one hand, it would enhance maritime connectivity in the Indian Ocean, which is essentially the western segment of the Indo-Pacific, and on the other, it would burnish India’s role as a preferred security partner in the Indian Ocean. It would strengthen people-to-people connectivity, especially with Asean countries, and provide a fillip to ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policy.

Although the analogy of an island, particularly a small island upon which an airfield has been constructed, as an ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ has been used widely, one fundamental distinction is often glossed over. The key difference between an island with an airstrip and an aircraft carrier is the latter’s ability to manoeuvre. An airbase on land can accommodate a larger number of aircraft, operate a wide variety of aircraft and can generate a larger number of sorties. But it cannot move. Therefore, any land-based airfield can be continuously kept under surveillance and can be repeatedly targeted as long as an adversary possesses the capability to do so. The fact that an island cannot be ‘sunk’ becomes irrelevant if it cannot be used for launching air operations. An aircraft carrier, on the other hand, is mobile. This means that it can quickly move beyond an adversary’s strike range while using manoeuvre to strike him at a time and from a direction of its own choosing. A comparison between an island and an aircraft carrier is not logical.

Despite its transformative potential, there have been some concerns over the environmental and social impact. Over 85 per cent of Great Nicobar is classified as a biosphere reserve and part of Unesco’s man and biosphere programme, hosting tropical rainforests, coral reefs, estuaries and over 1,700 species, many of them endemic. The project is expected to divert roughly 130 sq km of forest land, which is likely to involve felling of trees, alongside significant damage to coastal ecosystems and coral reefs. However, the project has received environmental clearance after a detailed process of screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal. An environmental management plan, involving the industry, government, pollution control board and local people, has been prepared to ensure sustainable development around the proposed project. It includes measures to reduce environmental impacts. Mitigation is done at the source and at the project site. A compensatory afforestation plan has also been prepared.

The project is fully aligned with the Shompen Policy of 2015 and the Jarawa Policy of 2004, which mandate that large-scale development proposals prioritise the welfare and integrity of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups and follow a structured consultation process. I am sure the government would put in necessary safeguards to preserve the ecology, protect the environment and preserve the tribal heritage of this island.

This article appeared in Outlook's July 6th, 2026 issue titled 'The Great Nicobar Debate,' which looks at the pros and cons of developing the eco-sensitive Nicobar Island.