India to provide subsidies for local shippers to win govt tenders

The Great Eastern Shipping

14/07/2021 15:32

NEW DELHI, July 14 (Reuters) - India will give financial
support to local shippers to help them match the lowest bids
offered by foreign carriers in global import tenders floated by
Indian state agencies, an official statement https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1735373
 said on Wednesday.
    The move to provide 16.24 billion rupees ($218.08 million)
support over five years is aimed at increasing the number of
Indian-flagged vessels and saving outgoing foreign exchange.
    The Indian fleet comprises a meagre 1.2% of the world fleet
in terms of capacity, the statement said, adding the share of
Indian ships carrying the country's foreign trade had dropped 
from 40.7% in 1987-88 to about 7.8% in 2018-19. 
    Higher local taxes and cost of capital add to the operating
cost of Indian vessels, making them uncompetitive.
    The subsidy scheme will not be applicable for vessels older
than 20 years.

 (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Nick Macfie)
 ((nidhi.verma@thomsonreuters.com; +91 11 49548031; Reuters
Messaging: nidhi.verma.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))