Government Rolls Out Rs 44,700 Crore Shipbuilding Initiatives to Boost Domestic Capacity

New Delhi, Dec 2025 : The government on Saturday unveiled operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives with a combined outlay of Rs 44,700 crore, aiming to enhance India’s domestic shipbuilding capabilities and strengthen its global competitiveness.

The Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS), with a total corpus of Rs 24,736 crore, will provide financial assistance ranging from 15% to 25% per vessel, depending on the type of vessel. The scheme introduces graded support for small normal, large normal, and specialised vessels, with stage-wise disbursement tied to clearly defined milestones and backed by security instruments. Incentives for series orders are also included to encourage sustained production.

Over the next decade, SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth approximately Rs 96,000 crore, driving domestic manufacturing, generating employment across the maritime value chain, and strengthening the industrial ecosystem.

Complementing this, the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with a budget of Rs 19,989 crore, focuses on long-term capacity creation and capability building. The scheme provides for the development of greenfield shipbuilding clusters, expansion and modernisation of brownfield shipyards, and the establishment of an India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University to foster research, design, innovation, and skill development. The approved guidelines provide a transparent and accountable framework for implementation.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has provided a decisive policy reset for India’s shipbuilding sector. “These guidelines create a stable and transparent framework that will revive domestic shipbuilding, strengthen forward and backward linkages under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, enable large-scale investment, and build world-class capacity. This positions India as a major maritime nation, advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

Under SbDS, greenfield clusters will receive 100% capital support for common maritime and internal infrastructure through a 50:50 Centre–State special purpose vehicle. Existing shipyards will be eligible for 25% capital assistance for brownfield expansion of critical infrastructure such as dry docks, shiplifts, fabrication facilities, and automation systems. Disbursements will be milestone-based and monitored by independent evaluation agencies.

The scheme also incorporates a Credit Risk Coverage Framework, providing government-backed insurance for pre-shipment, post-shipment, and vendor-default risks, enhancing project bankability and financial resilience.

With these initiatives, India’s commercial shipbuilding capacity is projected to rise to around 4.5 million gross tonnage per annum by 2047. Both SBFAS and SbDS will remain valid until March 31, 2036, with in-principle extensions envisaged up to 2047, providing a long-term roadmap for a robust, modern, and globally competitive shipbuilding ecosystem in India.

Team Maverick