The Indian government is likely to shortly approve a $3 billion fund to develop the Indian shipping sector, government sources said on Wednesday, April 30.
The sources said that the $3 billion Maritime Development Fund Scheme has been finalised by the ministry of shipping and forwarded to the federal cabinet of ministers for its final approval.
The ministry of finance had proposed setting up such a fund for the development of the Indian shipping sector while presenting the national budget for 2025-26 in February 2025.
According to the proposal, the fund will provide financial assistance to the shipping sector through equity and debt securities. The initial corpus is pegged at $3 billion, with the government contributing 49 percent and the balance to be mobilised from major port authorities, other government entities, government companies, financial institutions, and the private sector, the sources said.
The fund aims to finance ship acquisitions and significantly boost the share of Indian-flagged ships in global cargo to 20 percent by 2047.
An increased indigenous fleet is expected to reduce dependence on foreign vessels, improve the balance of payments, and secure India’s strategic maritime interests, the sources said.