The scheme will support the establishment of new manufacturing plants and the expansion of existing facilities. It aims to increase India's annual container manufacturing capacity nearly ten-fold, from approximately 70,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) currently to 7.5 lakh TEUs.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed the approval, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and the Make in India initiative for encouraging domestic container manufacturing. He said the scheme would help manufacturers scale up production and reduce dependence on imports.
India's trade relies heavily on containers, most of which are currently manufactured overseas. Container traffic in the country is projected to increase from approximately 24 million TEUs in 2024 to 175 million TEUs by 2047 under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision, highlighting the need to develop domestic manufacturing capacity.
Under the scheme, Rs 859 crore has been allocated for interest subvention assistance, providing an annual subsidy of 3% on eligible term loans. The support will cover greenfield plants with a minimum annual capacity of 1,00,000 TEUs and brownfield expansions of at least 25,000 TEUs.
Operational expenditure assistance accounts for Rs 8,891 crore and will support eligible manufacturers for each container produced to global shipping standards and sold. The assistance is intended to bridge the cost gap with imported containers. Domestic content requirements will increase from 70% to 90%.
A further Rs 150 crore has been allocated for testing and certification facilities, including common infrastructure for dynamic longitudinal impact testing, to reduce dependence on overseas testing services. Another Rs 100 crore will support scheme administration, monitoring and capacity building. The government will also facilitate land leasing at major ports at 25% of the notified rate.
An Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will approve the scheme guidelines and sanction assistance.
The government expects the scheme to generate around 3,000 direct jobs and more than 50,000 indirect jobs across steel, components and logistics. It is also expected to support ancillary industries producing corner castings, specialised steel, wooden frames and paints.
The scheme is projected to generate approximately Rs 75,000 crore in economic output by FY 2039-40, more than seven times the government support. Expected sources of demand include replacement of the global container fleet, the Bharat Container Shipping Line and new major ports such as Vadhavan and Galathea Bay.
Sonowal said domestic container production would strengthen India's maritime logistics supply chain, supporting ports, exporters and shipping lines while advancing the objectives of self-reliance and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
