“New Delhi approved the massive subsidy package earlier this year, combining $3 billion in direct shipbuilding subsidies with $2.4 billion for yard infrastructure. The schemes run through 2036 with a possible extension to 2047, the year India aims to achieve ‘major maritime power’ status alongside developed-nation aspirations.”
“The timing and scale matter. India currently ranks a distant 20th-22nd globally in shipbuilding, controlling barely 0.06% of world output. The country spends roughly $70-75 billion annually on foreign shipping services while only 7% of Indian-owned vessels are built domestically. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has framed this as India’s ‘Maruti moment’ for ships, a reference to the 1980s automotive revolution that transformed India from importer to manufacturer.”
“The strategic concern runs deeper. India’s schemes include government-backed insurance for pre- and post-shipment risks, exactly the kind of export-credit support that has made Asian yards so formidable. European yards have long complained they can’t match Chinese financing terms. Now they’ll potentially face the same challenge from a democratic competitor they can’t easily criticize on geopolitical grounds.”
“India’s emergence as a subsidized, export-oriented competitor makes that gap impossible to ignore. If cargo owners can order modern vessels in India at near-Asian prices without the China risk, pressure could intensify to rethink the Jones Act’s US-build requirement, which critics say inflates domestic shipping costs and reduces competitiveness.”
https://gcaptain.com/indias-5-4-billion-shipbuilding-gambit-takes-aim-at-china-and-rattles-the-west/