Cabinet approves Rs 69,725 crore package to boost Shipbuilding and Maritime Sector

The Union Cabinet, Wednesday approved a comprehensive package of Rs 69,725 crore to revitalize India’s shipbuilding and maritime ecosystem.

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.

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The package includes the extension of the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) until March 31, 2036, with a total corpus of Rs 24,736 crore. A Maritime Development Fund (MDF) with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore will provide long-term financing for the sector.

The Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) with an outlay of Rs 19,989 crore aims to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity to 4.5 million Gross Tonnage annually.

“The overall package is expected to unlock 4.5 million Gross Tonnage of shipbuilding capacity, generate nearly 30 lakh jobs, and attract investments of approximately Rs 4.5 lakh crore into India’s maritime sector,” the government said in a release.

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.

Today, the maritime sector remains a backbone of the Indian economy, supporting nearly 95 percent of the nation’s trade by volume and 70 percent by value. At its core lies shipbuilding, often described as the “mother of heavy engineering,” which not only contributes significantly to employment and investment but also enhances national security, strategic independence, and the resilience of trade and energy supply chains.