Cochin Shipyard and Drydocks World Form 50:50 Ship Repair JV

The correct answer is 50:50. The release says both Drydocks World and Cochin Shipyard will each hold half of the joint venture, with the initial capital funded through equity contributions from both parties, and it describes the arrangement as a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership in India's ship repair sector. Options A, C and D are all wrong because no unequal split of any kind is mentioned; the equal holding is in fact the point the release stresses, since it makes both partners equally responsible for the facility at Cochin. Candidates often assume a majority stake for the Indian public sector partner in such ventures, which is exactly the assumption this question tests. Note as well that the venture will operate, consolidate and expand the International Ship Repair Facility rather than build a new yard from scratch.

The correct answer is DP World. The release introduces Drydocks World as a DP World company in its opening line and records that its Chief Executive Officer, Captain Rado Antolovic, signed the joint venture agreement with Cochin Shipyard. The presence of the UAE Assistant Foreign Minister for Advanced Science and Technology at the signing, and the Minister's remarks about the maritime relationship between India and the UAE, both point to the same Emirati connection. Options B, C and D are wrong because none of those groups appears anywhere in the account of the agreement, although each is a well known name in ports and shipping and so makes a plausible distractor. Fix in memory the triad of names for this story: Cochin Shipyard, Drydocks World and the parent DP World.

The correct answer is the International Ship Repair Facility at Cochin. The agreement is specifically for operating, consolidating and expanding that facility, which the release says is strategically placed along major international shipping routes and has a state-of-the-art ship lift system along with modern docking facilities. The added capacity is meant to serve a wider range of vessels for Indian, regional and international customers, and to open up work in ship repair, engineering and fabrication in Kerala. Options B and D are wrong because no such project or cluster is named in the release. Option C is wrong although it belongs to the same ministry's work; the heritage complex at Lothal in Gujarat is a separate project reviewed at its own governing council meeting. The Secretary did say the Cochin model could be repeated along India's coastline.