New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- The Indian government is set to accord infrastructure status to the shipping industry, with a formal notification expected within a fortnight, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.

Infrastructure status would help shipping firms access cheaper, longer-term bank funding, spurring purchases from Indian shipyards and boosting domestic vessel ownership, they added.

The move is seen as crucial to India's ambition of becoming one of the world's top five countries in shipbuilding and ownership by 2047. It currently ranks 18th in ship ownership and 22nd in shipbuilding.

The department of economic affairs (DEA) and the ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways (MoPSW) have held three rounds of discussions to fina...