The Union Budget has earmarked Rs 616.88 crores for funding projects under the Sagarmala scheme, the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, for the fiscal year beginning April.

The allocation is lower than the Rs 699 crores for FY26, according to the revised budget estimates. This is also lower than the budget estimates of Rs 866 crores pencilled at the time of the 2025 budget.

In FY25, the actual budget allocation for the Sagarmala programme was Rs 658.29 crores.

The Budget for 2026 has allocated Rs 1,000 for Maritime Development Fund, approved by the Union Cabinet last year as a dedicated fund to support the growth of maritime sector and address its financing requirements. The fund provides financial support for development of shipbuilding, ship repairs, ports etc to achieve global competitiveness in the sector.

The Budget has also estimated 1515 crores for the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and National Shipbuilding Mission. The money will be utilised to provide targeted financial assistance to shipyards for constructing ships. It also provides for shipbreaking credit notes for vessels scrapped at eligible Indian shipbreaking yards which can be reimbursed against new shipbuilding orders placed in local shipyards.

An allocation of Rs 250 crores has been made for capacity and capability development and credit risk coverage for shipbuilding under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS). The provision is for grants-in-aid for common infrastructure creation in new shipbuilding clusters, to existing shipyards towards brownfield capacity expansion of production facilities, to mitigate financial risks and provide insurance coverage including pre-and post-shipment and vendor default insurance to Indian shipyards, for capability development of the shipbuilding sector and for establishment of the India Ship Technology Centre (ISTC).

Source: ET Infra. Com 

#theshippingtribune #latestnews #shippingnews #dailynews #Maritimenews #shippingindustry #news #media #newsupdate #maritime #shippingnewsworldwide