The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has notified operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding support initiatives, the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) with a combined outlay of about Rs 447 billion to strengthen the domestic shipbuilding sector and enhance global competitiveness.
Under SBFAS (Rs 247.36 billion), financial assistance of 15-25 per cent per vessel will be provided depending on vessel type. It features milestone-linked disbursements, graded support for different vessel classes, incentives for series orders, and a National Shipbuilding Mission for coordinated planning.
The SbDS (Rs 199.89 billion) focuses on long-term capacity creation through greenfield clusters, brownfield shipyard modernisation, and an India Ship Technology Centre under the Indian Maritime University for research and skills development. It includes 100 per cent capital support for infrastructure in new clusters and 25 per cent support for existing yard expansion. Both schemes are valid until March 31, 2036 (with possible extension to 2047), aiming to grow India’s commercial shipbuilding to around 4.5 million gross tonnes per annum by 2047.