India to have its own maritime financier in Sagarmala Development : Sarbananda Sonowal
OSLO : India’s Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) is on course to complete the re-positioning of one of its largest infra-development entities into a non-banking financial company to fund maritime projects within the country and overseas. The Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL) has filed an application with the Reserve Bank of India for grant of Certificate of Registration (CoR) as a Type-II NBFC (Non Deposits-Investment and Credit Company). The certificate of registration is likely this month, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, told .
Post the certification, SDCL will fund “all suitable projects in the maritime sector”, including lease financing and shipping.
Typically, type-II NBFCs are those that accept public funds or intend to accept them in the future, and/or have a customer interface or intend to have one in the future. This categorisation differentiates them from type I NBFCs, which do not accept public funds and have no customer interface.
The Type-II NBFCs are subject to more intensive scrutiny by the RBI, compared to Type-I NBFCs, due to their access to public funds and customer interaction.
“The SDCL) has filed application….on December 20, 2024. All queries raised by the RBI from time to time are being promptly answered by SDCL. SDCL is preparing the required policies to act as NBFC as per RBI’s master guidelines. NBFC-Certificate of Registration (CoR) is expected to be received likely by June, 2025,” he said.
After getting registered as an NBFC, SDCL shall raise different types of long-term and short-terms funds from different financial institutions. The company plans to provide debt and financing to all suitable projects in maritime sector and lease financing to shipping.
As part of the Bharat Global Ports Consortium — which will look at identifying port-led development projects overseas — SDCL “will be responsible for the financial aspects of projects”.
“Its role includes formulating financial strategies and offering advice on project financing and execution,” the Minister said.
infra development
At present, SDCL focusses on improving infrastructure at existing ports that include capacity augmentation and improving efficiencies. It is also working on development of new ports and allied connectivity infrastructure. In projects, the equity contribution from SDCL in any project SPV will be decided based on the project DPR and financial due diligence. Equity contribution will generally not exceed 49 per cent.
The current SDCL Board of Directors include TK Ramachandran, Shipping Secretary as Chairman; Dilip Kumar Gupta as Managing Director; AC Nayak, Director Finance; R Lakshmanan, Joint Secretary of the Ministry, as one of the directors; and Venkatesapathy S, who will be part of the Board.
Source : The Hindu
