The Indian government has announced a significant boost to its domestic shipbuilding capacity with the unveiling of two major initiatives totaling Rs 44,700 crore. The move is aimed at strengthening India's maritime ecosystem, attracting investments, and enhancing the country's global competitiveness in the shipbuilding industry.
The two schemes, the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), are designed to provide a comprehensive policy push to revive shipbuilding activity in India. Sarbananda Sonowal, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, stated that these guidelines create a stable and transparent framework that will revive domestic shipbuilding, boost forward and backward linkages, amplify the 'Make in India' initiative, enable large-scale investment and build world-class capacity, positioning India as a major maritime nation on the path to Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
The SBFAS, with a corpus of Rs 24,736 crore, will provide financial assistance ranging from 15% to 25% per vessel, depending on the category of ships built. The scheme offers graded incentives for small normal, large normal, and specialized vessels, with disbursement linked to clearly defined construction milestones and backed by security instruments. Incentives for series orders have also been included to encourage scale and efficiency. The SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth approximately Rs 96,000 crore over the next decade, stimulating domestic manufacturing and generating employment across the maritime value chain. The scheme will be valid until March 2036, with a possible extension to 2047. A key feature of SBFAS is the proposed National Shipbuilding Mission, which will ensure coordinated planning and execution of shipbuilding initiatives.
The SbDS, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 19,989 crore, focuses on long-term capacity and capability creation. Under this scheme, greenfield shipbuilding clusters will receive 100% capital support for common maritime and internal infrastructure through a 50:50 Centre–state special-purpose vehicle. Existing shipyards will be eligible for 25% capital assistance for brownfield expansion of critical infrastructure such as dry docks, shiplifts, fabrication facilities, and automation systems. The scheme also provides for the establishment of an India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University to support research, design, innovation, and skills development.
The government's initiative is expected to have a significant economic impact, unlocking 4.5 million Gross Tonnage of shipbuilding capacity, generating nearly 30 lakh jobs, and attracting investments of approximately Rs 4.5 lakh crore into India's maritime sector. Beyond its economic impact, the initiative will strengthen national, energy, and food security by bringing resilience to critical supply chains and maritime routes. It will also reinforce India's geopolitical resilience and strategic self-reliance, advancing the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and positioning India as a competitive force in global shipping and shipbuilding.
