New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Budget for 2025-26, on Saturday proposed setting up a Maritime Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore for the long-term financing of the maritime industry.
She said that this corpus will be for support and promoting competition in the maritime industry. The fund will have up to 49 per cent contribution by the government, and the balance will be mobilised from ports and the private sector.
The Finance Minister stated that the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will be revamped to address cost disadvantages, which will also include Credit Notes for shipbreaking in Indian yards to promote the circular economy.
Further, the large ships above a specified size are also proposed to be included in the infrastructure harmonised master list (HML). The Union Budget also proposes to facilitate ‘Shipbuilding Clusters’ in order to increase the range, categories and capacity of ships. This will include additional infrastructure facilities, skilling and technology to develop the entire ecosystem.
Acknowledging that the shipbuilding has a long gestation period, the Finance Minister proposed to continue the exemption of Basic Customs Duty on raw materials, components, consumables or parts for the manufacture of ships for another ten years. She further proposed the same dispensation for shipbreaking to make it more competitive.
The government sees tremendous demand stemming from the needs of the Indian shipping market which should be adequately targeted by Indian shipyards, it may result in an opportunity to the extent of over $237 billion (Rs 20 lakh crore) by 2047, according to a Shipping Ministry statement.
The government has drawn up a strategy for revitalising the shipbuilding and repair ecosystem within India and aligning it with India’s ambitious Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030). MIV 2030 has set a bold target to elevate India’s global ranking in shipbuilding and ship repair from over 20th place to the top 10 and an ambitious goal has been set for the top 5 position, as outlined in the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
The government is working on an integrated approach to bringing together shipbuilding stakeholders through the development of Maritime Clusters.
–IANS
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