Fishing Engine Subsidy Scheme (Motorisation of Country Crafts)

What is the Fishing Engine Subsidy Scheme?

Fishing Engine Subsidy Scheme in Kerala, formally the Modernisation and Motorisation of Country Crafts scheme, pays a fixed subsidy towards fitting an outboard motor below 10 HP on a traditional fishing craft. The scheme belongs to the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala, and is implemented by the Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development (Matsyafed), the apex body of the state's fisheries cooperatives.

The subsidy amount is fixed rather than proportional. Matsyafed records the rate as Rs 10,000 per unit until 2006-07 and Rs 30,000 per unit from 2007-08 onwards. Between 1988-89 and 2016, the entire amount allotted by the Government of Kerala under the scheme was used to motorise 8,502 crafts, with subsidy released to 8,502 fishermen groups and Rs 742.949 lakh distributed.

The scheme exists because of a specific reality of the Kerala coast. Roughly three-quarters of Kerala's marine fishermen work in the artisanal or traditional sector, on small country craft that fish close inshore. A country craft without a motor is limited by how far a crew can row and how quickly it can return before the catch spoils. An outboard motor of even 8 or 9 HP changes both, and it is also the difference between reaching shelter and not when weather turns, an acute concern on a coast that faces the southwest monsoon head-on.

Where this scheme sits among Matsyafed's plan schemes

• Motorisation of country crafts: Rs 30,000 per unit for an outboard motor below 10 HP. This scheme.
• Subsidy for suitable components of fishing gear to 50 per cent of the cost of the gear or Rs 6,000, whichever is less, for fishermen owning craft fitted with outboard motors below 10 HP.
• Bankable scheme subsidy to 25 per cent of a bank loan, released directly to the bank, for traditional fishermen borrowing to purchase fishing inputs. This has run since 1988-89, assisting 2,211 beneficiary groups with Rs 403.56 lakh released up to 2016.
• Kerosene subsidy — subsidised white kerosene supplied with a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre, for outboard motors that run on it.

Who is eligible for the fishing engine subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a traditional fisherman working in Kerala's artisanal marine or inland sector.
• You are a member of a primary fisheries cooperative society affiliated to Matsyafed. The Department of Fisheries states that members of cooperative societies affiliated to Matsyafed are the beneficiaries.
• You own or operate a registered country craft on which the motor will be fitted.
• The motor you propose to buy is below 10 HP.
• You are replacing an existing motor, or motorising an existing craft. Only existing units and replacement units qualify.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are not a member of an affiliated cooperative society. A fisherman outside the Matsyafed network is not eligible under this route.
• Your engine is 10 HP or above, which places it outside the scheme's definition.
• You operate a mechanised trawler or a larger vessel. The scheme is for traditional country craft only.
• You have already received the assistance. It is provided once per beneficiary, extended to those who have not benefited in the previous three years only where applications are inadequate.
• Your craft is unregistered, so the engine cannot be linked to a verifiable vessel.
• You bought the motor before the society forwarded your application and it was sanctioned.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the fishing engine subsidy

1. Confirm your society membership. Check with your primary fisheries cooperative society that your membership is current and that the society is affiliated to Matsyafed. If you are not a member, enrol first.
2. Get the craft registration in order. The country craft must be registered and the registration certificate available, since the engine is sanctioned against a specific vessel.
3. Obtain a quotation for an outboard motor below 10 HP. Matsyafed distributes outboard motors of makes such as Yamaha and Suzuki through cooperative stores across the state, which is the simplest route.
4. Submit the application to your society with the membership certificate, fishermen ID card, craft registration, Aadhaar copy, bank passbook copy and the quotation.
5. Let the society forward the application to the Matsyafed district office and the Fisheries office, where it is checked against the district allocation and the once-per-beneficiary rule.
6. Wait for sanction before purchasing. The sanction states the approved subsidy of Rs 30,000 and the balance you must pay.
7. Take delivery of the motor, through the Matsyafed cooperative store where that route is used, with the subsidy adjusted against the price, or against an invoice for later reimbursement.
8. Present the motor for verification. The engine number is recorded against your craft, and the subsidy is settled to your bank account where it was not adjusted at purchase.

How much benefit does the scheme provide?

The subsidy is a flat Rs 30,000 per unit for an outboard motor below 10 HP, in force since 2007-08. It is not a percentage, so on a cheaper motor it covers a larger share of the cost and on an expensive one a smaller share, the amount does not move either way.

For a working fisherman the practical calculation is the balance payable. A 9.9 HP outboard motor of a reputable make costs substantially more than Rs 30,000, so the subsidy meets part of the price and the fisherman funds the rest, often through the society or a bank loan on which the bankable scheme subsidy of 25 per cent may separately apply.

Fishermen buying gear at the same time should note the fishing gear component subsidy to 50 per cent of the cost of the gear or Rs 6,000, whichever is less, which is available to fishermen owning craft fitted with outboard motors below 10 HP, exactly the group this scheme creates.

How to check your application status

1. Ask your society secretary whether the application has been forwarded to the Matsyafed district office and note the reference.
2. Contact the Matsyafed district office for the position against the district allocation.
3. Contact the Fisheries office for your coastal block, which maintains the fishermen register and the craft registration records.
4. After purchase, confirm that the engine number verification has been recorded, as the subsidy release depends on it.

Why fishing engine subsidy applications get rejected

• Not a member of an affiliated society, or membership lapsed.
• Engine of 10 HP or more, which is outside the scheme.
• Craft not registered, so the engine cannot be tied to a vessel.
• Previous assistance already drawn, since the benefit is once per beneficiary except in the limited three-year circumstance.
• Motor purchased before sanction, leaving nothing to verify against an approved unit.
• Allocation exhausted for the district, in which case the application is carried over rather than rejected on merit.

Key dates and timing

The scheme has no annual last date, but district allocations are finite and are committed through the year. The practical timing consideration for a fisherman is the monsoon trawling ban, during which the artisanal fleet is at its busiest and a working motor matters most. Applications made well before the season give the society time to forward them and the district office time to sanction, so that the motor is fitted before the fishing picks up rather than during it.

Help and grievance redressal

• Your primary fisheries cooperative society. The office that holds and forwards your application.
• Matsyafed district office, and the head office in Thiruvananthapuram, phone +91 471 2458606, email matsyafed@matsyafed.in.
• Department of Fisheries, Kerala; Director's office, phone 0471 2305042, email fisheriesdirector@gmail.com. Portal fisheries.kerala.gov.in.
• Fisheries office for your coastal block, for craft registration and fishermen register issues.

No agent can obtain this subsidy, and no payment to any individual is required to have an application forwarded by a society. Any such demand should be reported to the Matsyafed district office.