Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of a Maritime Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore during the Budget presentation for 2025-26. This fund aims to provide long-term financing for the maritime industry and promote competition. The government will contribute up to 49 per cent of the fund, with the remaining amount to be mobilized from ports and the private sector. By 2030, the Maritime Development Fund is expected to generate investments of up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the shipping sector.
In addition to the fund, Sitharaman also extended the customs duty exemption on inputs and components used for manufacturing ships for another 10 years. These measures are crucial for promoting domestic shipbuilding and boosting international trade. The Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will be revamped to address cost disadvantages, including credit notes for shipbreaking in Indian yards to promote the circular economy.
Furthermore, the Budget includes initiatives to support inland water transport by extending the tonnage tax scheme benefits to inland vessels registered under the Indian Vessels Act, 2021. Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal praised the Budget as a progressive policy statement towards realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India by 2047. The Budget also extends the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy 2.0, providing direct financial subsidies to Indian shipyards to offset operational cost disadvantages and strengthen the domestic shipbuilding industry. Additionally, the Shipbreaking Credit note scheme incentivizes ship scrapping by issuing a credit note of 40 per cent of the scrap value for purchasing new Made in India ships.
