Subsidy for Construction/Purchase of Motorized/Mechanized Fishing Boats

What is the Subsidy for Construction/Purchase of Motorized/Mechanized Fishing Boats?

Subsidy for Construction/Purchase of Motorized/Mechanized Fishing Boats is a Union Territory Plan scheme of the Department of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration. The scheme meets a share of the cost of building or buying a new motorized or mechanized fishing boat, with the stated aim of raising fish production across the islands.

The Department of Fisheries notifies the scheme afresh each financial year and invites applications through a press release. For 2026-27 the notice was issued on 6 July 2026 and described the scheme as "Subsidy for Construction/Purchase of New Motorized/Mechanized Fishing Boats". For 2025-26 the department issued notices in May 2025 under the same scheme name.

Why the scheme exists

Fishing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is dominated by small craft working close to shore. A motorized or mechanized boat lets a fisher reach further grounds, work in a wider weather window and land a bigger catch, but the capital cost is far beyond what most island fishing households can raise. The subsidy closes that gap, and it does so at a higher rate for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries, who account for a large share of fishing households in the Nicobar group.

Key features

• UT Plan scheme, notified annually by the Department of Fisheries.
• 50 per cent of the approved unit cost for general category beneficiaries.
• 75 per cent of the approved unit cost for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries and Tribal Cooperative Societies.
• Open to individuals and to cooperative societies and federations.
• Covers new boat construction or purchase, in both municipal and tribal fishing areas.
• Applied for offline through Fisheries Zonal Offices and Sub-Stations.

Who is eligible for the boat subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a bonafide fisher of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, living in a municipal or tribal fishing area.
• You belong to a tribal community of the islands and intend to build or buy a fishing boat.
• You are a local unemployed youth or an entrepreneur of the islands who wants to enter fishing.
• You are a Fisheries Cooperative Society, a Federation, or a Tribal Cooperative Society registered in the islands.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are not a resident of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The scheme is restricted to island beneficiaries in municipal and tribal areas.
• You want funding for a second-hand boat, a repair or an engine replacement. The scheme is for construction or purchase of a new motorized or mechanized boat; engines and gear fall under the department's separate motorization subsidy.
• You apply after the closing date printed in that year's notice. The window is short and the department does not run a rolling intake.
• You submit an incomplete application. The department's notices repeatedly require applications "along with all required documents".

Claiming the 75 per cent rate requires a Scheduled Tribe certificate or, for a society, registration as a Tribal Cooperative Society. Without that proof the application is processed at the 50 per cent general rate.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the boat subsidy

1. Watch for the annual press release from the Department of Fisheries. The scheme is notified once a financial year, usually in the first quarter, and the window is short, the 2026-27 notice of 6 July 2026 closed on 15 July
3. Collect the application form and detailed guidelines from the Directorate of Fisheries, a Zonal Fisheries Office in North and Middle Andaman, South Andaman or Nicobar, or the nearest Fisheries Sub-Station. Forms are also published on the Andaman and Nicobar Administration website.
4. Read the terms and conditions attached to the form, particularly the unit cost fixed by the department for the class of boat you plan to build or buy, because your subsidy is a percentage of that figure and not of your own quotation.
5. Fill in the form and attach every listed document, fisher identity proof, residence proof, ST certificate if you are claiming 75 per cent, society papers if you are applying as a society, the boat quotation, Aadhaar and bank details.
6. Submit the completed application in person at the nearest Fisheries Zonal Office or Fisheries Sub-Station before the closing date in the notice.
7. Keep an acknowledgement of submission and follow up at the same office for the outcome of scrutiny and for the boat inspection stage.

Key dates and how the annual window works

The pattern is the important thing here, not any single date. The Department of Fisheries announces the scheme once a year, gives between one and three weeks for submission, and then closes. Prospective applicants should keep their fisherman registration, residence proof and ST certificate ready in advance so that a week's notice is enough to file. The Zilla Parishad of North and Middle Andaman has separately advertised a boat construction and purchase subsidy in the past, so fishers in that district should check whether the district body or the department is the notifying authority in a given year.

How to check your application status

The Department of Fisheries does not operate an online application tracker for this scheme. Track it the way the scheme is run, offline:

1. Return to the Fisheries Zonal Office or Sub-Station where you submitted the application, with your acknowledgement.
2. Ask for the scrutiny status of your file and whether it has been referred for technical or site inspection.
3. Escalate to the Directorate of Fisheries if the zonal office cannot give you a position after a reasonable interval.

Why applications are rejected, and how to avoid it

• Filed after the closing date. The most common reason, given how short the window is.
• Documents missing. The department asks for applications "complete in all respects"; an incomplete file is set aside rather than held for correction.
• No proof of bonafide fisher status or no island residence proof.
• ST rate claimed without an ST certificate, which drops the claim to 50 per cent.
• Application for a repair, an engine or a used boat, none of which this scheme covers.
• Society application without registration papers or current bye-laws.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) — for scheme guidelines, unit costs and escalation.
• Zonal Fisheries Offices for North and Middle Andaman, South Andaman and Nicobar districts. The offices that receive and scrutinise applications.
• Fisheries Sub-Stations near the landing centres, which are the closest point of contact for most fishers and also issue and receive forms.

There is no fee for the application form and no agent is authorised to file on your behalf. Collect the form yourself from a departmental office so that you also receive the current year's terms and conditions with it.