India is stepping up efforts to build a globally competitive shipbuilding industry through an ecosystem-based approach that combines demand aggregation, shipyard infrastructure, financing support and incentives for domestic ship ownership, T K Ramachandran, former secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and , said on Thursday at Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi.
Ramachandran said that a series of legislative reforms and a ₹ 70,000-crore package announced last year marked a turning point for India’s maritime sector.
“Last year was a very important period in the history of the Indian shipbuilding sector, maritime sector,” he said, referring to the enactment of five laws and the government’s financial support package designed to strengthen the industry over a 10-year period.
Ramachandran said the government’s strategy aimed to address challenges on both the demand and supply sides, which had previously prevented Indian shipyards from expanding capacity and attracting orders.
“We followed an ecosystem approach where we looked at both the demand side and the supply side,” he said, adding that India ranked around 16th globally in at the time of the discussion.
One of the key measures was demand aggregation, which seeks to provide shipyards with predictable orders and greater long-term visibility. The government identified demand for more than 100 vessels over the following two years, he said.
Ramachandran said the government had also focused on addressing the cost gap between building ships in India and procuring them overseas, as well as measures to strengthen ship ownership and financing.
The Maritime Development Fund provides equity support to businesses across the maritime sector, including shipping, ports and . An interest incentive scheme offers interest subvention of up to 3%, he said.
Another significant measure was granting infrastructure status to shipping, which allows companies to access longer loan tenures and lower borrowing costs.
“Earlier, since shipping was not infrastructure, your tenures were just about five or six or seven years. But now you can go up to 25 years,” Ramachandran said.
The financing changes are intended to improve the viability of capital-intensive shipbuilding projects and encourage greater private investment.
Ramachandran said the government’s strategy also accounts for the replacement of ageing , growing demand for green shipping technologies and opportunities arising from ship recycling.
He pointed to incentives under which 40% of the value of a ship recycled in India can be claimed as a credit, subject to conditions, when the ship is built domestically.
He said the measures were beginning to attract interest from major international companies, including (MSC), which has placed shipbuilding orders in India.
Ramachandran also highlighted the establishment of a technology centre to support research and development, design and testing, areas he described as important to developing domestic shipbuilding capabilities.
The combination of , financial incentives, development and rising demand has generated greater interest in India’s maritime industry, Ramachandran said.
He argued that the sector’s prospects extend beyond green vessels, with replacement demand, ship recycling and the development of domestic manufacturing capabilities providing additional opportunities for growth.
“If at all, if there is a good time to enter into the maritime industry in India, it is now,” he said.
