Cabinet approves ₹69,725 cr shipbuilding revival package

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 69,725 crore package to revitalise Indias shipbuilding and reduce dependence on foreign ships as part of the government's plan to regain the country's maritime power.

- MPOST BUREAU

According to an official statement, the package introduces a four-pillar approach designed to strengthen domestic capacity, improve long-term financing, promote greenfield and brownfield shipyard development, enhance technical capabilities and skilling, and implement legal, taxation, and policy reforms to create a robust maritime infrastructure.

Under the package, the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) will be extended until March 31, 2036, with a total corpus of Rs 24,736 crore.

"The scheme aims to incentivise shipbuilding in India and includes a Shipbreaking Credit Note with an allocation of Rs 4,001 crore. A National Shipbuilding Mission will also be established to oversee the implementation of all initiatives," the statement said.

In addition, the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) has been approved with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore to provide long-term financing for the sector.

"This includes a Maritime Investment Fund of Rs 20,000 crore with 49 per cent participation from the government of India and an Interest Incentivisation Fund of Rs 5,000 crore to reduce the effective cost of debt and improve project bankability," the statement said.

Furthermore, the statement said the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with a budgetary outlay of Rs 19,989 crore, aims to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity to 4.5 million gross tonnage annually, support mega shipbuilding clusters, infrastructure expansion, establish the India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University, and provide risk coverage, including insurance support for shipbuilding projects.