The Indian government has approved a $8 billion fiscal package to be spent on reviving and expanding the domestic shipbuilding and ship repairing ecosystem, a government statement said on Friday, September 26.
The fiscal package is structured around four pillars - enhancing domestic shipbuilding capacity, creating long-term financing channels, fostering shipyard expansion, and pushing forward reforms in policy, taxation and skill development.
A key highlight is the extension of the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) until March 31, 2036, backed by a corpus of $2.8 billion. The scheme will also feature a Shipbreaking Credit Note with an allocation $451 million.
To coordinate the agenda, a National Shipbuilding Mission will be set up. The government has also approved the creation of a Maritime Development Fund (MDF) of $2.8 billion, designed to provide long-term financial support to shipbuilding.
Furthermore, the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with an outlay of $2.25 billion, will aim 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.