Shipbuilding, maritime sector get ₹70K-cr cabinet nod

THe unification storage locker on wed sanctioned a ₹69,725 crore 10-year-long revival meeting package with a four-pillar approach, to reform India’s shipbuilding and maritime sector, Union minister for railways, IT and I&B Ashwini Vaishnaw said.Describing shipbuilding as the “mother of heavy engineering,” the government said the reforms are expected to create around 30 lakh jobs and attract nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore in investments.Calling it a big part of PM Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, minister Vaishnaw said, “Shipment and maritime sector is a very strategic sector for any country, and not just for India. It’s strategic also because of our long-associated heritage with it. Till the 18th century, Indian ships were considered the most advanced ships in the world and people from all over the world came to India to buy ships. Indian designs were also taken to Europe. It is now important to revive our heritage for the country’s economic growth.”The reforms also build on the fact that maritime transport already carries 95% of India’s trade by volume and 65% by value, added Vaishnaw.The first pillar - Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme - has been allocated ₹24,736 crore and will be extended until 31 March 2036. The scheme aims to incentivize ship building in India and includes a Shipbreaking Credit Note with an allocation of ₹4,001 crore. A National Shipbuilding Mission will also be established to coordinate demand, oversee procurement, and promote international collaborations.The second pillar, the Maritime Development Fund, comes with a corpus of ₹25,000 crore. This fund is intended to make financing cheaper and more accessible in the sector. It will offer equity financing, promote Indian tonnage, and support infrastructure such as shipyards, repair facilities, and port-linked projects.The third pillar, the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, has been allocated ₹19,989 crore. This scheme will support both greenfield shipbuilding clusters and the expansion of existing brownfield facilities. The government hopes to create globally competitive hubs by building specialized clusters that can attract domestic and foreign orders.The fourth pillar focuses on legal, policy, and process reforms. Several key maritime laws, including the Merchant Shipping Act, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, and the Indian Ports Act, are being updated to reflect modern requirements and international standards, said the government.The government believes that with this reform, India’s shipbuilding capacity could grow to 4.5 million gross tonnage, with output reaching 8.2 million gross tonnage, over 2,500 additional vessels, alongside an additional 250 million tonnes per annum of port capacity.The Union Cabinet also gave its nod to decisions worth ₹94,916 crore on Wednesday. These include doubling of a railway line ( ₹2,192 crore) and construction of four-lane road ( ₹3,822.31 crore) in Bihar, productivity linked bonus for 78 days to 10,91,146 railway employees ( ₹1,865.68 crore), scheme boosting scientific research and developing skilled human resources ( ₹2,277.397 crore) and expansion of postgraduate and undergraduate medical education capacity ( ₹15,034.50 crore).I&B, Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the cabinet briefing said that the presentation given by him on Wednesday was created using Zoho, “and not Microsoft Powerpoint.” Zoho is a Chennai-based business solutions provider which provides office suites for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.The minister later in the day posted on X about the same, asking people to “Switch to Swadeshi!” The move comes at a time when the Modi government has been asking citizens to shift to make-in-India or Swadeshi products.A person aware of the matter told HT that the operations will not be fully handed over to Zoho Corporation, as NIC will continue to manage both the platform and the data. “It is like shifting from Microsoft Suite to Zoho because it is just better in terms of usage, compatibility and features,” the person added.On September 17, MP John Brittas wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman raising concerns over the government’s decision to shift the official Sansad email system for MPs and government officers to Zoho, thereby “relegating NIC to a minor role.” NIC is the government’s own technology arm that has been managing official email and digital services for decades.In 2023, the government had selected Zoho to handle email services and other internet-based office products. It was the first time a private contractor was roped in to handle government digital services.