The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has announced comprehensive financial support measures for India's shipbuilding and maritime sector with a total outlay of ₹49,736 crore across multiple schemes. The government approved the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) with an outlay of ₹24,736 crore, which is an extension of the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP), specifically designed to address cost disadvantages of Indian shipyards vis-à-vis global competitors. The scheme guidelines were issued on December 26, 2025, to operationalize the assistance program.
Additionally, the government established the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) with a corpus of ₹25,000 crore to provide long-term financing support to the sector. This fund comprises two components: a Maritime Investment Fund (MIF) of ₹20,000 crore with 49% participation from the Government of India to support equity financing for maritime sector projects, and an Interest Incentivization Fund (IIF) of ₹5,000 crore to reduce the effective cost of debt for shipyards. The MDF guidelines were issued on February 20, 2026, and SBI Ventures Limited was appointed as the Fund Manager for MIF on May 26, 2026.
The National Shipbuilding Mission (NSbM) has been established as an inter-ministerial nodal agency to oversee implementation of both SBFAS and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SBDS). Under SBDS, the NSbM has given in-principle approval after appraisal for development of greenfield shipbuilding clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, as well as three brownfield capacity expansion projects at various existing shipyards.
The objective of these initiatives is to position India as a global hub in the shipbuilding and maritime sector, aligning with the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision, 2047. This information was formally provided by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.