Sailing towards 2047—India charts course to become a shipbuilding giant.
Govt Grants Infrastructure Status to Large Ships to Boost Shipbuilding.
The government has announced criteria for granting infrastructure status to ships, a move aimed at strengthening India’s position in global shipbuilding. As per the Finance Ministry’s notification, Indian-owned and flagged commercial ships with 10,000 gross tonnage and above, or Indian-built, owned, and flagged ships of 1,500 gross tonnage or more, will qualify for infrastructure status. This decision comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s launch of India’s shipbuilding ambition from Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The status will allow fleet owners easier access to long-term, low-cost financing, a key demand from the shipping industry. Experts stress that shipbuilding is capital-intensive, requiring large financial support, similar to China’s model of state-backed ship financing. India currently accounts for only 0.06% of global shipbuilding but aims to rank in the top 10 by 2030 and top 5 by 2047, requiring investments exceeding $600 billion across shipbuilding, tonnage expansion, and green shipping.