Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme: Building India's Maritime Future

The Union Budget 2026‑27 announced the Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme (CMAS) with a ₹10,000 crore outlay over five years to develop a domestic container manufacturing ecosystem. The scheme aims to raise annual capacity to about 7.5 lakh TEUs – roughly ten times the current level – and to generate around 3,000 direct and 50,000 indirect jobs. It provides capital and operational support for greenfield and brownfield facilities, testing infrastructure, skilling and capacity‑building. CMAS is linked to broader maritime reforms such as the Bharat Container Shipping Line, PM Gati Shakti, the National Logistics Policy and the Sagarmala Programme, seeking to reduce reliance on the import of nearly 2 million empty containers per year and strengthen supply‑chain resilience.