The government’s Rs 12.2 lakh crore capital expenditure (capex) outlay for 2026–27 will be largely channelled into shipbuilding, national highways, railways and metro rail projects, Expenditure Secretary V Vualnam said.
In a post-Budget interview with PTI, Vualnam said sectors with large ongoing and new infrastructure projects—particularly highways, railways and urban transport, including metro networks—will continue to dominate public capex spending in the next fiscal.
The government has budgeted total expenditure of over Rs 53.47 lakh crore for 2026–27, with capital expenditure pegged at Rs 12.22 lakh crore. This spending is aimed at creating physical infrastructure and boosting long-term growth.
Highlighting shipbuilding as a rising focus area, Vualnam said the sector has now been accorded infrastructure status and is expected to play a much larger role in the coming years.
“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) is spent on rentals to foreign companies (for shipping goods). So, that will, again, come up, and there are quite a few, and it will remain our focus,” he said.
To support the push, the Union Cabinet had approved a Rs 69,725 crore package in September last year to revive India’s shipbuilding and maritime sector. The package follows a four-pillar approach to expand domestic capacity, improve long-term financing, promote greenfield and brownfield shipyard development, strengthen technical capabilities and skilling, and introduce legal, taxation and policy reforms to build a robust maritime ecosystem.
