New Delhi–The Centre on Saturday notified operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives with a combined outlay of Rs 44,700 crore (approximately $5.4 billion), aimed at strengthening India’s domestic shipbuilding capacity and enhancing its global competitiveness.
The initiatives include the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), both designed to revive domestic shipyards, attract large-scale investments and create a robust maritime manufacturing ecosystem.
Under the SBFAS, which has a total corpus of Rs 24,736 crore (around $3.0 billion), the government will provide financial assistance ranging from 15 per cent to 25 per cent of the cost per vessel, depending on the category. The scheme offers graded support for small normal, large normal and specialised vessels, with stage-wise disbursement linked to clearly defined milestones and backed by security instruments. Incentives for series orders have also been included.
Over the next decade, the SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth about Rs 96,000 crore (nearly $11.6 billion), stimulate domestic manufacturing and generate employment across the maritime value chain.
The second initiative, the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), carries a budgetary outlay of Rs 19,989 crore (approximately $2.4 billion) and focuses on long-term capacity and capability creation. The scheme provides for the development of greenfield shipbuilding clusters, expansion and modernisation of existing brownfield shipyards, and the establishment of an India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University to support research, design, innovation and skill development.
The notified guidelines lay down a transparent and accountable framework for implementation. Under SbDS, greenfield shipbuilding clusters will receive 100 per cent capital support for common maritime and internal infrastructure through a 50:50 Centre–State special purpose vehicle. Existing shipyards will be eligible for 25 per cent capital assistance for brownfield expansion of critical infrastructure such as dry docks, shiplifts, fabrication facilities and automation systems. All disbursements will be milestone-based and monitored by independent evaluation agencies.
The scheme also introduces a Credit Risk Coverage Framework, offering government-backed insurance for pre-shipment, post-shipment and vendor-default risks to improve project bankability and financial resilience.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said the initiatives mark a decisive policy reset for the shipbuilding sector under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “These guidelines create a stable and transparent framework that will revive domestic shipbuilding, strengthen forward and backward linkages under 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,” he said.
According to the ministry, with the creation of modern infrastructure and a skilled workforce, India’s commercial shipbuilding capacity is projected to rise to around 4.5 million gross tonnage per annum by 2047.
Both the SBFAS and SbDS will remain valid until March 31, 2036, with an in-principle extension envisaged up to 2047. (Source: IANS)
