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The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has signed a major contract with French shipping major CMA CGM for the construction of LNG dual-fuel vessels, in a move expected to boost India's global shipbuilding footprint and align with the green maritime transition, officials said on Thursday. In a statement, CSL said it signed a landmark Shipbuilding Contract (SBC) with CMA CGM at New Delhi on Wednesday for the construction of six 1,700 TEU LNG dual-fuel feeder container vessels. The contract was signed by CSL Chairman and Managing Director Jose V J and Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM. The ceremony was attended by Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, along with senior officials from the Ministry, representatives of both organisations, and members of the maritime industry, the statement said. "The collaboration reflects strong global confidence in CSL's technical excellence, ...
The key focus of the government's Rs 12.2 lakh crore capex for the next fiscal will be mainly on sectors like shipbuilding, national highways, railways, and metro train projects, Expenditure Secretary V Vualnam said. The government has budgeted total expenditure in 2026-27 at over Rs 53.47 lakh crore, of which about Rs 12.22 lakh crore is projected to be the capital expenditure, meaning it would be spent on building physical infrastructure. In a post-Budget interview to PTI, Vualnam said the sectors, which have huge ongoing and new projects, like the national highways, railways, and the urban sector, to the extent of metro train projects, will continue to dominate the government public capex spending in the next fiscal. "Shipbuilding has become an infrastructure sector, and will also now be a big player. We are very keen to improve our share in shipbuilding (globally). Of India's import-export cargo, just about 5 per cent goes on India-owned ships. About Rs 6 lakh crore (annually) i