₹70,000 Crore Maritime Plan on Cabinet Agenda

₹70,000 Crore Maritime Plan on Cabinet Agenda

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is expected to soon take up a massive ₹70,000 crore maritime package aimed at boosting India’s indigenous shipbuilding capacity, strengthening maritime infrastructure, and reducing dependence on foreign shipping operators.

The initiative, first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being positioned as a transformative step to make India a global shipbuilding hub. Currently, Indian exporters and importers spend nearly ₹6 trillion annually on foreign shipping operators for transporting goods — a gap the government hopes to bridge by strengthening the domestic fleet.

Key Components of the Package

₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF): Designed to improve financing options for Indian shipping companies, the fund will help expand fleet capacity and provide concessional loans.

₹25,000 crore Shipbuilding Cluster Programme: To establish and modernize both greenfield and brownfield shipyards, creating an ecosystem that can handle commercial as well as defense shipbuilding requirements.

₹20,000 crore Revamped State Support Programme: The second iteration of the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will incentivize domestic shipbuilders through subsidies and viability gap funding.

₹2,000 crore Insurance Provision: A new mechanism to shield shipbuilders from unforeseen financial and operational risks, ensuring smoother execution of long-term projects.

Push for National Shipbuilding Cluster

The government has already signed agreements with five maritime-rich states — Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu — to form a National Shipbuilding Cluster. The move aims to create regional hubs with specialized capacities in cargo handling, ship repair, and advanced shipbuilding.

Officials said the long-term vision is to place India among the top five shipbuilding nations by 2047, aligning with the centenary of India’s independence and the larger “Viksit Bharat” roadmap.

Strategic and Economic Significance

Experts believe the package will not only reduce India’s heavy reliance on foreign shippers but also:

Create thousands of jobs in coastal states.

Boost ancillary industries such as steel, electronics, and marine engineering.

Strengthen India’s naval and security preparedness by expanding indigenous shipyard capabilities.

The Cabinet’s nod is expected in the coming weeks, after which the plan may be rolled out in phases over the next decade.