New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed the establishment of a Maritime Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore and announced the launch of a modified UDAN scheme aimed at enhancing regional connectivity by adding 120 new destinations.
Speaking in Parliament during her budget presentation, the Finance Minister emphasised that the fund aims to provide distributed support and foster competition in the sector. Of the proposed fund, the government will contribute up to 49 percent, with the remaining capital to be mobilised from private players and ports.
Sitharaman also highlighted that the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will be overhauled to mitigate cost disadvantages, with Cre...