Oil PSUs Invest Rs 170 bn in Mega Shipping JV Led by SCI

02 Mar 2026 CW Team

The move is aimed at reducing reliance on foreign-flagged shipping, as nearly 90 per cent of India’s crude imports currently travel on non-Indian vessels. Analysts cited in the release calculated that India spends about $75 billion, roughly Rs 6.2 tn, annually on freight to foreign companies, exposing the energy chain to geopolitical disruptions and soaring insurance premiums during crises. Bringing shipping into a domestic, captive model is intended to retain freight outgo within the national economy and improve supply security.

The joint venture envisages the acquisition or construction of 59 new vessels by 2030 with planned capital deployment of about Rs 150 bn to Rs 170 bn. The fleet will include Very Large Crude Carriers, designated VLCCs, Very Large Gas Carriers, designated VLGCs, product tankers for refined fuels and offshore support vessels to assist exploration and production companies. A significant share of construction is expected to be sourced from Indian shipyards in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat objective.

Officials described the initiative as a catalyst for reviving domestic shipbuilding, generating thousands of skilled maritime jobs and standardising designs for both commercial and naval requirements. The venture will also need rapid fleet modernisation and a commercial mindset to compete with global operators, while low-cost funding from the MDF will be a key determinant of pace. Sponsors expect the business to reach profitability within three years of full operations, transforming SCI into a strategic logistics asset and improving margins for the oil PSUs.

A consortium of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is set to invest in a major shipping joint venture led by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Under the proposed structure SCI will hold 50 per cent majority, the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) will hold 15 per cent and the three oil PSUs will hold a combined 35 per cent stake. The move is aimed at reducing reliance on foreign-flagged shipping, as nearly 90 per cent of India’s crude imports currently travel on non-Indian vessels. Analysts cited in the release calculated that India spends about $75 billion, roughly Rs 6.2 tn, annually on freight to foreign companies, exposing the energy chain to geopolitical disruptions and soaring insurance premiums during crises. Bringing shipping into a domestic, captive model is intended to retain freight outgo within the national economy and improve supply security. The joint venture envisages the acquisition or construction of 59 new vessels by 2030 with planned capital deployment of about Rs 150 bn to Rs 170 bn. The fleet will include Very Large Crude Carriers, designated VLCCs, Very Large Gas Carriers, designated VLGCs, product tankers for refined fuels and offshore support vessels to assist exploration and production companies. A significant share of construction is expected to be sourced from Indian shipyards in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat objective. Officials described the initiative as a catalyst for reviving domestic shipbuilding, generating thousands of skilled maritime jobs and standardising designs for both commercial and naval requirements. The venture will also need rapid fleet modernisation and a commercial mindset to compete with global operators, while low-cost funding from the MDF will be a key determinant of pace. Sponsors expect the business to reach profitability within three years of full operations, transforming SCI into a strategic logistics asset and improving margins for the oil PSUs.

Infrastructure Urban

25 Mar 2026

When the World Shakes, Build Anyway

"The mantra is simple, and it has never changed: keep the construction going — for the day the market turns, only what is built can be sold."There is a particular kind of quiet that descends on a sales office when the world outside is anything but quiet. The phones ring less. Walk-ins slow. Prospective buyers sit on their hands, waiting to see which way the wind blows. Right now, that wind is blowing hard — from West Asia, from geopolitical fault lines cracking open between major powers, from commodity markets rattled by the possibility of conflict. And when the wind blows hard enough, mon..

Infrastructure Urban

25 Mar 2026

Assiduus Global Raises United States Dollar 25 mn in Pre-Series B

Assiduus Global, a financial technology firm, has raised United States dollar 25 mn in a pre-Series B round led by Bajaj Finserv. The funds will be used to scale its lending orchestration platform and to deepen integrations with lending partners. Management intends to allocate the capital to expand engineering and product teams and to enhance data and risk analytics capabilities. Priority will be given to platform robustness, automation of underwriting workflows and improvements to customer onboarding journeys. The company will also pursue partnerships with banks and non-bank financial compani..

Infrastructure Urban

25 Mar 2026

Online Resource Removed Or Temporarily Unavailable

Visitors to the specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) encountered a standard notice stating that the resource has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. The message appeared when attempting to access the page hosted on thehindubusinessline.com via a linked index page and offered no additional contextual information. The absence of further detail left readers without a clear timeline for restoration or an explanation of whether the content had been deliberately withdrawn.\n\nNotices of this type commonly reflect routine site maintenance, content migration, editori..