Longer loan tenure for shipbuilders likely

A new shipbuilding policy was approved by the Cabinet last year

The Union shipping ministry has sought longer working capital loan tenure for the shipbuilding industry, following a demand from the debt-heavy sector.
 
The current tenure is six months. A letter had gone to the department of financial services (DFS) on this issue.
 
According to an official, “Shipbuilding takes two to three years. We want the tenure increased to cover the entire manufacturing process of a ship.”
 
This comes against the backdrop of the central government’s effort to revive stalled projects across sectors. In a review meeting with public sector banks in 2015, DFS took up the issue.