On September 24, 2025, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved a Rs.69,725-crore 4-pillar strategy to revitalize India’s shipbuilding and maritime ecosystem by boosting domestic capacity, financing, shipyard development, skills, technology, and policy reforms.
Exam Hints:
- What? 4-Pillar strategy approved
- Approved by: Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi
- Value: Rs.69,725 crores
- 4 Pillars:Domestic Capacity; Maritime Financing; Financial Assistance & Shipyard Expansion and Skilling & Reforms
- Schemes: Approved SbDS scheme worth Rs.19,989 crores, MDF (Rs.25,000 crores), SBFAS (Rs.24,736 crores)
- SBFAS Extension: Till 31st March 2036
- Mission: National Shipbuilding Mission (NSM)
- Goal: Make India a global shipbuilding leader by 2047
- Ministry: MoPSW
Pillar 1 – Strengthening Domestic Capacity:
SbDS scheme: Approved the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with a budget of Rs.19,989 crores, with an aim to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity to 4.5 million Gross Tonnage (GT) per year.
Aim: It also aims to support mega shipbuilding clusters and infrastructure, establish the India Ship Technology Centre (ISTC) under the Indian Maritime University (IMU), and provide risk coverage, including insurance support for shipbuilding projects.
Pillar 2 –Long-Term Maritime Financing:
MDF Approved: The Maritime Development Fund (MDF) has been approved with a corpus of Rs.25,000 crores to provide long-term financing for the maritime sector.
- It encompasses a Maritime Investment Fund of Rs.20,000 crores, with 49% participation from the Government of India (GoI) and Interest Incentivization Fund of Rs.5,000 crores, to reduce the cost of debt and improve project viability.
Pillar 3 – Financial Assistance & Shipyard Expansion:
SBFAS Extension: The Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) was approved to continue till 31st March 2036 with the budget outlay of Rs.24,736 crores, including a Shipbreaking Credit Note with an allocation of Rs.4,001 crores.
About SBFAS: It was initially launched on 9th December 2015 with a corpus of Rs.4,000 crores under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP), with an aim to provide financial assistance to Indian shipyards for shipbuilding contracts, signed between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2026. It is overseen by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW).
- In May 2025, GoI introduced SBFAS 2.0, a revamped version of the scheme, with enhanced allocation of Rs.18,090 crores.
National Shipbuilding Mission (NSM): To be established to oversee all initiatives, with the goal of making India a global shipbuilding leader by 2047.
- It focuses on modernizing shipyards, promoting g greenfield shipyards (new shipyards) and Brownfield shipyards (existing shipyards) projects, developing clusters of shipyards and ancillary industries such as steel, electronics, engines, and repair services, building modern infrastructure for research, training, and production.
Pillar 4 – Skilling & Technical Capability, Legal, Taxation, Policy Reform: It focuses on removing the blocks and encouraging investments by reforming legal, policy, and taxation frameworks, enhancing technical skills and workforce training, promoting Research and Development (R&D), quality standards, green technology adoption, and safety compliance.
About Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW):
Union Minister – Sarbananda Sonowal (Constituency – Dibrugarh, Assam)
Minister of State (MoS) – Shantanu Thakur (Constituency – Bangaon, West Bengal, WB)
