Maritime Development Fund a transformative step in the Budget: Shashi Kiran Shetty
Emphasis on port-led growth and enhanced logistics will create significant growth opportunities
In his reaction to the Union Budget 2025-26, Mr Shashi Kiran Shetty, Founder and Chairman, Allcargo Group, said that the Budget has put the economy firmly on the track to attain the Viksit Bharat goal. The targeted measures to boost consumption through income tax reform shows the confidence of the government in its tax management efforts and empathy towards the middle class, he said.
Also, with the specific interventions to boost manufacturing, integrated approach to drive ease of doing business, initiatives to encourage employment generation, innovation, clean tech manufacturing, and powering new-age growth levers such as AI and deep tech, the Budget has set the roadmap for broadbased growth. Steps to improve ease of doing business and continued efforts to simplify, rationalise and reform the regulatory framework will have a multiplier impact on the economy, he emphasised.
He described the INR 25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund as a transformative step, underscoring the government’s commitment to positioning India as a global shipbuilding powerhouse, although this may not be enough to compete with China and other ship building nations. “This strategic investment, alongside the emphasis on port-led growth and enhanced logistics, will create significant growth opportunities, employment generation by creating an ecosystem similar to what happened in the automobile segment. Additionally, the INR 1.5 trillion infrastructure allocation is a major boost, ensuring improved connectivity — a key enabler for economic growth,’’ he added.
Source: Exim News Service: Mumbai, Feb. 3