Why in News? 

The Chief of the Naval Staff visited the NMHC (Lothal, Gujarat). 

• Ambitious cultural and tourism project to showcase India’s 4,500-year-old maritime heritage & establish the world’s largest maritime heritage complex. 
• Key projects— world-class Lighthouse Museum, coastal state pavilions, and maritime-themed eco-resort. 
• Under the Sagarmala Programme, the MoPSW is developing the NMHC, with its Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) funding the world’s tallest Lighthouse Museum.  

Lothal 

• A southernmost Harappan site in Bhal region, Gujarat, b/w Bhogavo & Sabarmati rivers near Gulf of Khambhat. 
• Meaning of the name– “mound of the dead” (like Mohenjo-daro). 
• Discovered in 1954 by S.R. Rao; nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in April 2014. 
• Known for world’s earliest known dock (connected the city to an ancient course of Sabarmati river), bead workshops, and maritime trade with Mesopotamia & Egypt (~4,000 years ago).