In a strategic move to bolster the “Make in India” initiative, the government has granted infrastructure status to large ships, including them in the Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure. This new status applies to commercial vessels with a gross tonnage of 10,000 or more that are under Indian ownership and flag. The same status is also extended to commercial vessels with a gross tonnage of 1,500 or more that are built in India, owned by an Indian entity, and fly the Indian flag. This policy was announced in the Budget 2025-26 and formally gazetted on September 19.
The “infra tag” is designed to provide substantial benefits to the shipbuilding industry. These include improved access to easier overseas borrowings, the ability to raise funds through tax-free bonds, and various tax concessions. The status also grants access to dedicated lenders, such as IIFCL, and debt funds. This move follows the government’s previous inclusion of “Shipyards” in the same list in 2016. The master list now includes five main sectors and 38 sub-sectors, with new additions requiring specific characteristics like high sunk costs and non-tradability of output.
This initiative is a direct response to a key challenge identified in the Maritime India Vision 2030, which noted that Indian shipping companies struggle to grow their tonnage due to difficulties in accessing necessary finance. To further support the sector, the Budget 2025-26 also announced the creation of a Maritime Development Fund (MDF) with ₹25,000 crore to directly finance ship acquisition. The MDF aims to boost the share of Indian-flagged ships in the global cargo volume to 20% by 2047, targeting a total investment of ₹1.5 lakh crore in the shipping sector by 2030.