"Budget 2026: Sagarmala receives ₹616.88 crore as the government prioritizes the new Maritime Development Fund with a ₹1,000 crore injection."

The Union Budget has allocated ₹616.88 crore for projects under the Sagarmala scheme, the flagship programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, for the financial year beginning April.

The allocation is lower than the revised estimate of ₹699 crore for FY26 and also below the budget estimate of ₹866 crore announced in the 2025 Budget. In FY25, actual expenditure under the Sagarmala programme stood at ₹658.29 crore.

The Budget for 2026 has also earmarked ₹1,000 crore for the Maritime Development Fund, which was approved by the Union Cabinet last year as a dedicated financing mechanism to support the growth of the maritime sector and address its funding requirements. The fund is intended to provide financial support for shipbuilding, ship repair and port development to enhance the global competitiveness of the sector.

In addition, the Budget has allocated ₹515 crore for the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the National Shipbuilding Mission. The funds will be used to provide targeted financial assistance to shipyards for the construction of vessels and to offer shipbreaking credit notes for ships scrapped at eligible Indian yards, which can be reimbursed against new shipbuilding orders placed with domestic shipyards.

An allocation of ₹250 crore has been made under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) for capacity and capability development and credit risk coverage in the shipbuilding sector. The provision includes grants for the creation of common infrastructure in new shipbuilding clusters, brownfield capacity expansion at existing shipyards, mitigation of financial risks, insurance coverage including pre- and post-shipment and vendor default insurance, capability development initiatives, and the establishment of the India Ship Technology Centre (ISTC).