Budget 2025: ₹25,000cr Maritime Development Fund to boost domestic shipping
India just announced a massive ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF) in the Union Budget 2025-26 to give the country's shipping industry a real push.
The fund is meant to tackle money troubles in shipbuilding, repairs, and coastal shipping—and it ties into big national goals like Viksit Bharat 2047 and making India more self-reliant with tax breaks and infrastructure status for shipping.
Interest subvention for shipyards and shipbuilding
The MDF will offer long-term funding—think grants, equity, and loans—to help raise the share of Indian-flagged ships in the global fleet to 20% by 2047.
₹5,000 crore is set aside for a 3% interest subvention to support building shipyards and boost domestic shipbuilding.
By 2030, the plan is to pull in ₹1.5 trillion in investments and make India's shipbuilding scene globally competitive.
The final rules are being worked out so this support actually reaches where it's needed most.