₹25K-cr shipbuilding fund set to be cleared to grow blue water economy

livemint.com:

₹25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund this month for providing long-term and low-cost financial support for indigenous ship-building and other blue water infrastructure projects, two persons in the know of the mater said. According to them, the new fund will take a corporate structure with the government holding a minority shareholding of at least 26% and the majority shareholding offered to multilateral financial institutions and global funds, among others.

“Currently, inter-ministerial consultations are on for the fund, which will provide funding support by way of debt, equity, viability gap funding (VGF) and buyer credit to borrowers, with the final cabinet note to be moved later this month for approval in time for the government’s 100-day agenda," said the first among the two persons quoted above adding that September end deadline has been kept for most important decisions now. “The discussion on the proposal is regarding the size of the fund and extend of equity contribution to be made by the government in the new initiative.

Suggestions are for keeping minority or equal government holding in the funding entity with stakes around 26% or going higher upto 49% while keeping fund size around ₹20,000- ₹25,000 crore," the person said. A query sent to the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways remained unanswered till press time.

Pushpank Kaushik, CEO of Jassper Shipping, a Singapore based global logistic and shipping service providersaid, “Such an institution is a necessity of the time. As a nation, we are targeting to be a $5 trillion economy.

In order to achieve such mammoth goals, it is essential for us to have our logistics industry as a premier industry. Presently our maritime sector is dependent on other