Container scheme to attract ₹1 trillion investments, says Sonowal

Container support scheme will lead to capacity equal to 10% of global demand

For two successive Budgets now, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made mega proposals in her Budget speeches for the shipping sector — the latest being a ₹10,000 crore container manufacturing assistance programme. The government will use this push to catalyse the Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL), India’s new national container carrier, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal tells Dhruvaksh Saha in New Delhi. Edited excerpts: 

What is the expected outcome of the container manufacturing scheme announced in the Budget? 

The scheme will target annual domestic manufacturing capacity of 750,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which could be around 10 per cent of the global annual container demand. This will substantially reduce reliance on imports and conserve foreign exchange. Additionally, it will create 3,000 direct and 50,000 indirect jobs. It will also generate investments of over ₹1 trillion. 

How much investment is the government expecting from the tax and Customs reforms announced in the Budget? 

The announcements are expected to unlock a substantial investment pipeline by improving after-tax returns, reducing risk, and making India a more attractive base for ship ownership, operations, and manufacturing. Extending the tax-holiday period for units in IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) and offshore banking units from 10 to 20 consecutive years within a 25-year window, followed by a concessional 15 per cent tax rate thereafter directly strengthens the business case for global and Indian shipowners to base their leasing and ownership structures in GIFT-IFSC Authority. This will attract more ship leasing, financing, and tonnage owned in India. 

This is in line with the large fleet-expansion plans already underway for BCSL, and demand aggregation by oil and other public sector undertakings (PSUs). The sunset clause for Customs duty exemption on small vessel imports being extended and removed for large vessels will lower upfront capex costs for Indian shipowners augmenting their fleets and give long-term policy certainty for placing large vessel orders. 

What is the ministry’s plan for BCSL’s operations and growth? 

BCSL will prioritise procurement of mid-size container vessels for regional and feeder services, and then scale up to large mainline ships, with an overall medium-term vision of building a 51-vessel fleet with an estimated capex of about ₹59,840 crore over the next 10-15 years. The short-term (next six months) procurement focus is on contracting six 1,700 TEU container carriers at around $45 million per vessel. The strategy here is to move quickly on smaller, feeder vessels that can be deployed on high-potential regional and coastal routes, allowing BCSL to commence operations, build brand presence and proof of concept. 

How will it scale up going forward? 

Over the year, BCSL plans six 8,000 TEU container carriers, which will cost around $90 million per ship, and eight 15,000-20,000 TEU carriers, costing $230 million per ship. Technical specifications are currently under preparation, and the procurement strategy is to float tenders that cover the initial set of vessels to be built internationally and the next set of vessels to be built domestically, with strong “Make in India” content. 

Why are private players currently not actively engaging in coastal shipping? What is the action plan for the Budget commitment to raise modal share of coastal shipping? 

Historically, private players have not engaged at scale in coastal shipping because the economics were less attractive than road and rail due to higher logistics frictions at ports like multiple documentations and clearances and non-standard processes, limited assured cargo volumes on key corridors, and relatively high operating costs. The newly enacted Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 introduces a simplified, nationally uniform licence regime for coastal vessels, replacing a fragmented colonial-era framework and giving investors long-term regulatory clarity. 

The upcoming Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme announced in the Budget will build on this by providing fiscal and viability-gap support to coastal services on prioritised corridors, with a dedicated multi-year Budget commitment to de-risk initial traffic buildup for private operators. 

What is the ministry’s goal on creation of new projects and capacity, and cargo addition? 

The ministry’s goals on new projects and capacity and cargo addition are to raise overall port capacity to about 3,500 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030 (currently 2,771 mtpa) through planned capacity additions of roughly 514 mtpa. Major projects — including Vadhavan Port, Tuna Tekra Container Terminal, and Tuticorin Outer Harbour at VO Chidambaranar Port Authority — will deliver a growth of 200 mtpa by 2029,. Non-major ports like Vizhinjam, Keni, Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam, and Mulapeta will also create capacity.