Centre Notifies Shipbuilding Schemes Guidelines with ₹44,700 Crore Outlay

The Union Government on Friday notified the operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives—the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS)—with a combined outlay of about ₹44,700 crore, aimed at significantly enhancing India’s domestic shipbuilding capacity and global competitiveness.

The guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), establish a transparent and accountable framework for implementation of the schemes, which are expected to revive domestic shipbuilding, attract large-scale investment and strengthen forward and backward linkages under the Make in India initiative.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has provided a decisive policy reset to the shipbuilding sector. He said strengthening shipbuilding and maritime capabilities would anchor India’s growth in self-reliance, skills and global competitiveness, in line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat.

Under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, which has a total corpus of ₹24,736 crore, the government will provide financial assistance ranging from 15% to 25% of the contract value per vessel, depending on the vessel category. The scheme introduces graded support for small, large and specialised vessels, milestone-linked disbursement and incentives for series orders.

The scheme also provides for the establishment of a National Shipbuilding Mission and introduces a Shipbreaking Credit Note, under which ship owners scrapping vessels at Indian yards will receive a credit equivalent to 40% of the scrap value. Over the next decade, SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth around ₹96,000 crore and generate employment across the maritime value chain.

The Shipbuilding Development Scheme, with a budgetary outlay of ₹19,989 crore, focuses on long-term capacity creation through greenfield shipbuilding clusters, modernisation of existing shipyards and the creation of an India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University. It also includes a Credit Risk Coverage Framework to improve project bankability.

According to the ministry, India’s commercial shipbuilding capacity is projected to increase to about 4.5 million gross tonnage per annum by 2047 with the creation of modern infrastructure and a skilled workforce.

Both schemes will remain valid until March 31, 2036, with an in-principle extension envisaged up to 2047. The approved guidelines have been published on the ministry’s official website to enable structured and transparent implementation.