NEW DELHI: The shipping ministry has notified the guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives with an outlay of Rs 44,700 crore, aimed at boosting India’s shipbuilding capacity.The two schemes include the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS), with a corpus of Rs 24,736 crore, and Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with an allocation of Rs 19,989 crore. These schemes are expected to provide a strong policy push to revive shipbuilding activity, attract investments and strengthen India’s maritime ecosystem.Under SBFAS, the government will provide financial assistance ranging from 15% to 25% per vessel, depending on the category of ships built. The scheme offers graded incentives for small normal, large normal and specialised vessels, with disbursement linked to clearly defined construction milestones and backed by security instruments. Incentives for series orders have also been included to encourage scale and efficiency.Under Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), greenfield shipbuilding clusters will receive 100% capital support for common maritime and internal infrastructure through a 50:50 Centre–state special purpose vehicle, while 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.“These guidelines create a stable and transparent framework that will revive domestic shipbuilding, boosting forward and backward linkage amping ‘Make in India’ initiative, enable large-scale investment and build world-class capacity, positioning India as a major maritime nation on the path to Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” port and shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday.A key feature of SBFAS is the proposed National Shipbuilding Mission, which will ensure coordinated planning and execution of shipbuilding initiatives. The scheme also 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, linking ship recycling with new ship construction and promoting a circular economy. Over the next decade, SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth about Rs 96,000 crore and generate employment.The SbDS focuses on long-term capacity and capability creation, including establishment of an India Ship Technology Centre to support research, design, innovation and skills development. The scheme also includes a Credit Risk Coverage Framework, offering govt-backed insurance for pre-shipment, post-shipment and vendor-default risks to improve project bankability and financial resilience.
