Rs 70,000 crore schemes to regain India's maritime power

NEW DELHI: In a move to build India’s maritime power, reduce dependence on foreign ships and be future-ready to face any supply chain disruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced three schemes entailing govt investment of over Rs 70,000 crore to boost the shipbuilding sector. These are a part of the govt’s agenda to propel India into the top 10 countries globally for both shipbuilding and ship ownership, and increase three-fold the share of global port cargo at Indian ports.

At present, India ranks 16th globally in both shipbuilding and ship ownership, and only 7% of Indian-owned ships are built in India. Data also shows that the share of export-import (EXIM) cargo carried on Indian ships has declined sharply from 41% in FY1988 to just 5% in FY2023.

In his address at Bhavnagar on Saturday, PM Modi said this has resulted in India paying approximately Rs 6 lakh crore annually to foreign shipping companies for their services—an amount nearly equivalent to the country’s defence budget.

While the government will provide financial aid to shipbuilders under the Rs 25,000-crore Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, the Rs 25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund will enable players to get long-term and low-cost financing. The third scheme — Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SDS), worth Rs 20,000 crore — will focus on providing capital assistance for greenfield shipbuilding mega clusters, through infrastructure support for common maritime facilities and land connectivity; capital aid to existing shipyards for capacity expansion; and establishment of an apex body for capability development.

Sources said the programme has been finalised after drawing from the experience of major maritime nations such as China and South Korea, which have become top players in shipbuilding on account of govt-led financial support and cluster-based development. The schemes, having the potential to create nearly two crore direct and indirect jobs, are set to get Cabinet approval in the next two weeks.

Officials said the SDS is crucial as it seeks to support the Indian shipbuilding industry in capacity and capability creation, and provide credit risk covers, something available in other countries. At present, only eight out of 61 shipyards in India are large or very large.

On May 14, TOI had reported that the government has identified four land parcels of 2,000-3,000 acres each in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for developing greenfield shipbuilding and repair hubs.

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