New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- India has been steadily pushing to strengthen its maritime sector, including ports, shipbuilding, inland and coastal shipping, ship repair, dredging and so on, and the government announced a new fund toward this in the Union Budget 2025-26.

The Maritime Development Fund (MDF), with a corpus of Rs.25,000 crore, aims to ease financing constraints, promote domestic shipbuilding, enhance the competitiveness of Indian flagged vessels, and more broadly align the maritime sector with national goals such as Viksit Bharat 2047, blue-economy ambitions, improved trade logistics and strategic self-reliance. The proposal is part of a larger package of reforms and incentives that include tax benefits, revised legislation and pol...