Centre clears ₹19,748 cr shipbuilding contracts for 456 vessels

New Delhi, March 14:  The government on Saturday said that under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP), a total of 288 contracts worth Rs 19,748 crore, covering 456 vessels, have received in-principle approval to date.

Moreover, total financial assistance amounting to Rs 620.57 crore has been disbursed to 23 shipyards for the construction and delivery of 204 vessels, according to the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.

The types of vessels covered include tugs, general cargo vessel, bulk carrier, oil tanker, crane pontoon, heavy deck cargo vessel, RO-RO pax vessel, crew boat, deck loading craft, coastal research vessel, modular pontoon, passenger catamaran, passenger cum motor cycle ferry, passenger ferry, landing craft, jack-up barge and self-elevating platform.

The government in September 2025 approved the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SBDS) having provision for credit risk coverage to Indian shipyard and viability gap funding in the form of capital assistance to brownfield/existing Indian shipyards towards expansion of production capacity.

The guidelines for the same have been issued recently, the minister said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

An assessment of the shipbuilding sector through a third party was conducted in 2024.

The report highlighted the shipbuilding sector’s high employment multiplier of 6.4 and a huge potential for generating both direct and indirect employment.

Further, it also highlighted challenges constraining the growth of shipbuilding in India like lack of domestic demand, high cost of financing, capacity and technology limitations, etc.

To address these challenges, the government approved SBFAS, Maritime Development Fund (MDF) and Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SBDS) to enhance India’s global competitiveness in shipbuilding and maritime sector.

The government recently notified the operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives with Rs 44,700 crore outlay, which are aimed at strengthening India’s domestic shipbuilding capacity and improving global competitiveness.

Under the SBFAS, which has a total corpus of Rs 24,736 crore, the government will provide financial assistance ranging from 15 per cent to 25 per cent per vessel, depending on the vessel category.

Over the next decade, SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth about Rs 96,000 crore, stimulate domestic manufacturing and generate employment across the maritime value chain.

—IANS