Building a strong maritime supply chain to power India’s shipbuilding ambitions.

Government Mulls Incentive Scheme for Shipbuilding Components Manufacturing.

The Government of India is considering a dedicated scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of shipbuilding components as part of its goal to make India one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has initiated discussions on a policy framework that may include capital expenditure (capex) subsidies and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) support. The move follows recent initiatives to boost manufacturing of cargo containers and maritime cranes—segments currently dominated by China. Officials noted that while shipbuilding has received significant policy backing, the lack of a strong local ancillary ecosystem remains a key gap. Shipbuilding requires hundreds of components, making government support crucial for developing supplier clusters alongside shipyards. Industry experts liken shipbuilding to the automobile sector, where ancillaries drive efficiency. Citing Busan in South Korea, experts highlighted how just-in-time component availability near shipyards reduces inventory costs and boosts competitiveness.