The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Lagadapati Venkata Srinivasa Sudhakar Babu as Managing Director of Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited, a dedicated Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) for the maritime sector. Babu currently serves as Executive Director at Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO). His appointment will require ratification by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
Sagarmala Finance Corporation, recently registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is expected to commence lending to maritime companies and ventures within six months, said R. Lakshmanan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, at an event in Mumbai on August 12.
The Corporation aims to provide tailored financial products to stakeholders including port authorities, shipping firms, MSMEs, waterway vessel operators, start-ups, shipyards, coastal and inland waterways players, renewable energy companies, fishing vessel operators, and industrial developers in coastal economic zones. Funding will support port modernisation, port connectivity via road and rail, port-led industrialisation, coastal community development, inland waterway growth, and port-hinterland connectivity projects.
It will offer short-term (up to 1 year), medium-term (1–3 years), and long-term (3–15 years) loans to boost growth in India’s maritime sector by financing capacity expansion, infrastructure projects, and businesses with forward and backward linkages.