The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying provided detailed information about its infrastructure development initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in response to a Rajya Sabha question. The Department of Fisheries is implementing PMMSY with a total outlay of ₹20,750 crore to promote sustainable fisheries development and welfare of fishermen, with fishing harbors and fish landing centers being key focus areas. These infrastructure projects are funded on a 60:40 cost-sharing basis between the central government and states, while union territories receive 100% central financial assistance.
The Department has approved a National Roll-out Plan for the Vessel Communication and Support System (VCSS) under PMMSY at a total cost of ₹364 crore. This project involves installation of transponders in one lakh marine fishing vessels, establishment of earth station and communication infrastructure, and development of the 'Nabhmitra' application in regional languages. The indigenously developed VCSS by ISRO enables monitoring, control and surveillance of marine fishing vessels, with features including periodic position reporting, two-way messaging, emergency/SOS messaging, automatic boundary crossing alerts, weather warnings, Potential Fishing Zone advisories, and navigational assistance.
There are 1,547 notified marine Fish Landing Centres across coastal states and union territories, out of which 423 have received infrastructure development support. The selection of centers for development is based on state priorities considering factors such as number of fishing vessels operating, dependent fishers, volume of fish landings, proximity to markets, and techno-financial viability. Security arrangements at these landing centers are managed by respective state governments/UT administrations in coordination with local security and law enforcement agencies based on site-specific conditions and vulnerabilities.
The state-wise breakdown shows Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of notified landing centers (350), followed by Tamil Nadu (301), Kerala (204), Maharashtra (173), Karnataka (115), Gujarat (107), West Bengal (66), Odisha (73), Goa (34), Puducherry (41), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (51), Lakshadweep (20), and Daman & Diu (12). The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) also provides concessional finance for creation of fisheries infrastructure facilities alongside PMMSY funding.