PM Narendra Modi announces Rs 70,000 crore schemes to regain India’s maritime power
BHAVNAGAR : Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced three schemes entailing govt investment of over Rs 70,000 crore to boost the shipbuilding sector, in a move to build India’s maritime power, reduce dependence on foreign ships and be future-ready to face any supply chain disruption.
In his address at Bhavnagar on Saturday, PM Modi said this has resulted in India paying approximately Rs 6 lakh crore annually to foreign shipping companies for their services—an amount nearly equivalent to the country’s defence budget.
Citing India’s shipping sector as a major example of the damage caused by flawed policies, Shri Modi remarked that India was historically a leading maritime power and one of the world’s largest shipbuilding hubs. Ships built in India’s coastal states once powered domestic and global trade. Even fifty years ago, India used domestically built ships, with over 40 percent of import-export conducted through them. The Prime Minister criticized the current opposition party stating that the shipping sector later fell victim to their misguided policies and instead of strengthening domestic shipbuilding, they preferred paying freight to foreign vessels. This led to the collapse of India’s shipbuilding ecosystem and forced dependence on foreign ships. As a result, the share of Indian ships in trade dropped from 40 percent to just 5 percent. The Prime Minister emphasized that today, 95 percent of India’s trade relies on foreign ships—a dependency that has caused significant loss to the nation.
Presenting some figures before the nation, Shri Modi remarked that citizens will be shocked to know that India pays nearly $75 billion —approximately six lakh crore rupees—every year to foreign shipping companies for shipping services. The Prime Minister highlighted that this amount is nearly equivalent to India’s current defence budget. He urged the public to imagine how much money has been paid as freight to other countries over the past seven decades. He pointed out that this outflow of funds has created millions of jobs abroad. Shri Modi emphasized that if even a small portion of this expenditure had been invested by earlier governments in India’s shipping industry, the world today would be using Indian ships, and India would be earning lakhs of crores in shipping services.
“If India is to become a developed nation by 2047, it must become self-reliant, there is no alternative to self-reliance and that all 140 crore citizens must commit to the same resolve—whether it is chips or ships, they must be made in India”, emphasised the Prime Minister, remarking that with this vision, India’s maritime sector is now moving towards next-generation reforms. He announced that from today, all major ports in the country will be freed from multiple documents and fragmented processes. The implementation of ‘One Nation, One Document’ and ‘One Nation, One Port’ Process will simplify trade and commerce. Shri Modi highlighted that during the recent Monsoon Session, several outdated laws from the colonial era were amended. He informed that a series of reforms have been initiated in the maritime sector, and five maritime laws have been introduced in a new form. These laws will bring major changes in shipping and port governance.
While the government will provide financial aid to shipbuilders under the Rs 25,000-crore Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, the Rs 25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund will enable players to get long-term and low-cost financing.
The third scheme — Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SDS), worth Rs 20,000 crore — will focus on providing capital assistance for greenfield shipbuilding mega clusters, through infrastructure support for common maritime facilities and land connectivity; capital aid to existing shipyards for capacity expansion; and establishment of an apex body for capability development.
Sources said the programme has been finalised after drawing from the experience of major maritime nations such as China and South Korea, which have become top players in shipbuilding on account of govt-led financial support and cluster-based development.
The schemes, having the potential to create nearly two crore direct and indirect jobs, are set to get Cabinet approval in the next two weeks.
Highlighting that a historic decision was taken yesterday to strengthen India’s maritime sector, Shri Modi announced a major policy reform under which large ships have now been accorded infrastructure status. He remarked that when a sector receives infrastructure recognition, it gains significant advantages. The PM highlighted that shipbuilding companies will now find it easier to secure loans from banks and will benefit from reduced interest rates. All benefits associated with infrastructure financing will now be extended to these shipbuilding enterprises. Shri Modi emphasized that this decision will reduce the financial burden on Indian shipping companies and help them compete more effectively in the global market.
Emphasising that to make India a major maritime power, the Government is working on three major schemes, the PM remarked that these initiatives will ease financial support for the shipbuilding sector, help shipyards adopt modern technology, and improve design and quality standards. He informed that over ₹70,000 crore will be invested in these schemes in the coming years.