In a significant move to strengthen India’s maritime capabilities and reduce dependence on foreign shipping services, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced three ambitious schemes involving a government investment of over ₹70,000 crore to revitalise the domestic shipbuilding sector.
The announcement, made during the Prime Minister’s address in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, is part of a broader national vision to elevate India into the ranks of the top 10 global players in both shipbuilding and ship ownership. The plan also seeks to increase India’s share of global port cargo threefold and build future resilience against global supply chain disruptions.
Prime Minister Modi underlined the urgency of this strategic shift, noting that India currently pays nearly ₹6 lakh crore every year to foreign shipping companies for transporting goods—an amount nearly equivalent to the country’s entire defence budget. He said this dependence must end, and India must emerge as a maritime power in its own right.
Currently, India ranks 16th globally in both shipbuilding and ship ownership. Alarmingly, only 7% of Indian-owned ships are built within the country. The share of India’s export-import (EXIM) cargo transported by Indian ships has declined drastically from 41% in FY1988 to just 5% in FY2023, further highlighting the need for immediate corrective action.
To address these gaps, the government is launching a three-pronged maritime development strategy. A ₹25,000 crore Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme will provide financial aid to domestic shipbuilders, helping them compete with global players. Another ₹25,000 crore will be channelled into a Maritime Development Fund that will enable long-term, low-cost financing for shipbuilding and related sectors. A third scheme, the ₹20,000 crore Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SDS), will focus on creating greenfield shipbuilding mega clusters, expanding capacity at existing shipyards, developing common maritime infrastructure, and improving land connectivity. The SDS will also establish an apex body to lead capability development and provide credit risk coverage—an essential facility already offered in major shipbuilding nations.
Sources indicate that these schemes have been carefully designed based on lessons learned from maritime giants like China and South Korea, where sustained government-led financial support and cluster-based development have propelled them to global leadership in shipbuilding. The Indian government has already identified four land parcels of 2,000 to 3,000 acres each in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu for developing greenfield shipbuilding and repair hubs.
At present, India has 61 shipyards, but only eight are considered large or very large. Officials stress that scaling up this capacity is crucial if India wants to compete globally. The new maritime strategy is expected to create nearly two crore direct and indirect jobs, providing a major boost to employment in coastal and industrial regions across the country.
Cabinet approval for the entire package is expected in the coming two weeks, marking a potential turning point in India’s maritime journey.
