Providing Navigational Aids and Other Infrastructure Facilities

What is the Providing Navigational Aids and Other Infrastructure Facilities scheme?

Providing Navigational Aids and Other Infrastructure Facilities is a Gujarat state fisheries scheme of the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation Department, implemented through the Commissionerate of Fisheries and applied for on the i-Khedut portal. Gujarat has the longest coastline in India, around 1,600 km or roughly 28% of the national total, and this scheme is the department's main umbrella instrument for equipping that fleet and the shore infrastructure behind it.

The scheme is best understood as a menu of components rather than a single benefit. Some components put safety equipment on a small boat for a few thousand rupees. Others fund an entire fish processing unit worth crores. A separate, socially important component pays the families of Gujarat fishermen taken into custody in Pakistan.

How much assistance does each component give?

Jumbo plastic crates carry a differentiated rate: 40% of the Rs 700 unit cost, up to Rs 280 per crate for a general fisherman, rising to 60%, up to Rs 420 for SC, ST and women beneficiaries, on 50 units per trawler, gill netter, bucket netter or deep-sea boat and 25 units per small boat. A manual handling stacker of Rs 1,50,000 unit cost carries 60% up to Rs 9,000 for one unit.

Who is eligible for this fisheries scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a native of Gujarat.
• You own a fishing boat registered under Real Craft software at fishcraft.nic.in. This registration is mandatory.
• You hold a valid fishing licence.
• You have a bank account in your own name.
• For construction components, you have obtained in-principle approval of the floor plan.

For the infrastructure side; cold storage, ice plants, fish markets and processing units: assistance is also available to private units, entrepreneurs and fisheries co-operative societies, not only to individual fishermen.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are not a native of Gujarat.
• Your boat is not registered on Real Craft, which rules out the boat-linked equipment components entirely.
• You have no valid fishing licence.
• You are claiming a component again before its minimum time limit has elapsed, for example a GPS set within 3 years or a boat engine that has already been claimed once in a lifetime.
• You are seeking a construction component without in-principle approval of the floor plan.

How to apply for the fisheries assistance scheme

1. Register your fishing boat on the Real Craft portal at fishcraft.nic.in and keep your fishing licence current — without these the application cannot be processed.
2. Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and complete the one-time beneficiary registration on i-Khedut 2.0. The Aadhaar verification OTP goes only to the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar.
3. On the home page click Schemes, then select the fisheries scheme list and the component you want.
4. Click Apply, then Apply New, and complete the form with your personal details, boat registration number, licence details, the component claimed and your bank account.
5. Use Update Application to correct any entry before the form is locked.
6. Confirm the application. An unconfirmed application is not taken up for scrutiny.
7. Take a printout of the confirmed application and submit it with the documents to the concerned fisheries office.
8. Track progress in the Applicant Corner at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/public/frm_Applicant_Corner.aspx, which also allows document upload and reprinting.

When can I apply?

Applications are accepted only while i-Khedut opens the fisheries component windows. No permanent last date is published, and windows are typically short. Because several components additionally require prior approvals, Real Craft registration, a licence renewal, or a floor plan sanction, the practical advice is to complete those first so the paperwork is ready the day the window opens.

Why fisheries applications get rejected

• Boat not registered under Real Craft, or the registration number in the application not matching the record.
• Expired fishing licence at the time of scrutiny.
• Minimum time limit not elapsed since the same component was last claimed.
• Application not confirmed on i-Khedut, or the printout never submitted to the fisheries office.
• No in-principle floor plan approval for a construction component.
• Bills or quotations missing, so the actual expenditure cannot be fixed.
• Bank account not in the applicant's name, or an incorrect IFSC.

Where do I get help or file a grievance?

The District Fisheries Office and the Commissionerate of Fisheries under the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation Department handle scrutiny, sanction and grievances for this scheme. The i-Khedut public contacts page at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/Public/frm_Public_Contacts.aspx lists office contacts, and departmental scheme guidelines are published on agri.gujarat.gov.in.

Applying is free. No agent can charge a fee for adding your name to the beneficiary list, and no officer will ask for the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.