Four Indian shipyards advance through In-Principle Approval under Shipbuilding Development Scheme

The Directorate General of Shipping, India has announced that four brownfield shipyard projects have advanced through the In-Principle Approval (IPA) stage under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), reinforcing the country’s push to modernise and scale up indigenous shipbuilding and ship-repair capabilities at existing yards.

The four yards that have received IPA are:

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) — Vadinar, Gujarat: a new ship repair facility at Vadinar, in partnership with Deendayal Port Authority, valued at Rs 920 crore.

Swan Defence & Heavy Industries (SDHI) — Pipavav, Gujarat: Phase 1 infrastructure upgrade including Goliath and ELL cranes, valued at Rs 504 crore.

Titagarh Naval Systems Limited (TNSL) — Falta, West Bengal: a new yard at Falta capable of delivering 10-12 vessels up to 160 metres per year, valued at Rs 516 crore.

MAT Marine — Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh: shipbuilding and ship-repair infrastructure including slipways for 1,000+ GT per year, valued at Rs 105 crore.

DG Shipping clarified that the IPA stage signals government commitment to the project framework and eligibility, but carries no financial commitment. Capital assistance of up to 25% of the approved project cost, capped at Rs 1,500 crore per yard, is sanctioned only at Final Approval, following independent DPR appraisal, and is released across four milestone tranches of 15%, 30%, 35% and 20%.

Together, the four projects represent Rs 2,045 crore in investment approved in-principle, with more than Rs 10,000 crore in the pipeline overall, part of an Rs 8,261 crore brownfield expansion drive underway to transform India’s existing shipyards into globally competitive centres for shipbuilding and ship repair.

These projects are expected to modernise existing yards into globally competitive facilities, accelerate India’s journey towards Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, and help build a self-reliant, future-ready maritime manufacturing ecosystem.