Motorisation of Traditional Craft (Odisha)

What is the Motorisation of Traditional Craft scheme?

Motorisation of Traditional Craft is a sub-scheme of Mukhyamantri Maschyajibi Kalyan Yojana (MMKY), the state sector umbrella fisheries scheme of the Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Department, Government of Odisha. The scheme pays back-ended subsidy to a traditional marine fisherman who fits a new inboard or outboard engine to a registered traditional fishing craft, so the boat can travel further, fish longer and land a bigger catch per voyage.

According to the department's MMKY compendium, Odisha is a maritime state with a 480 km coastline and 24,000 square kilometres of continental shelf. About 5.18 lakh marine fishermen in 1.14 lakh families live along that coast. More than 20,000 registered boats are engaged in marine fishing, of which roughly 6,000 remain non-motorised traditional craft. Those 6,000 boats are the target of this scheme.

What the scheme sets out to do

• Increase the marine fish production of Odisha.
• Increase the catch per unit effort through motorisation.
• Increase the income and improve the livelihoods of traditional fishermen.

The scheme is implemented in the state's seven maritime districts by the Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) of each coastal district and by the District Fisheries Officer (Brackish water and Traditional), Balugaon, under the supervision of the Director of Fisheries, Odisha. District-wise annual targets are communicated by the Director and are interchangeable between districts depending on how quickly each district uses its allocation.

Who is eligible for the Motorisation of Traditional Craft scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Odisha with identity and residential proof including an Aadhaar card, preferably QR-coded.
• You hold a bank account in your own name at a branch in Odisha, seeded with Aadhaar.
• You are a traditional marine active fisherman.
• You own a traditional non-motorised fishing boat or a traditional motorised fishing boat duly registered in Odisha.
• You hold a valid ownership certificate, registration certificate and fishing licence under ReAL Craft, with the licence renewed during the last three consecutive years.
• You took boat procurement assistance under the MMKY "new boat, engine and net" component but did not take engine assistance along with it in the last three years. Such beneficiaries are expressly allowed to apply here.

You cannot apply; or are not eligible, if:

• You have availed subsidy for purchase of an engine under any government scheme in the last five years. The guideline fixes 1 April of the relevant year as the cut off, so for 2025-26 implementation the cut-off date is 1 April 2021, and the cut-off rolls forward each financial year.
• You acquired the boat through transfer of ownership where the previous owner had motorised it on subsidy inside that same five-year window.
• Any member of your family has drawn subsidy under the same scheme in the last three years. The scheme treats the beneficiary family as one unit rather than each individual member, and one family cannot draw multiple benefits under one scheme.
• Your boat is not registered in Odisha, or your fishing licence has lapsed.
• Your bank account is outside Odisha or not in your own name.

How much subsidy does the motorisation scheme pay?

Four rules govern the amount:

1. Financial assistance is limited to one unit per individual beneficiary, one engine, no more.
2. Subsidy is back-ended, calculated on the actual cost of the boat engine as per the GST bill or the maximum unit cost of Rs 1.40 lakh, whichever is less. If you buy a Rs 1.10 lakh engine, a General category beneficiary receives Rs 44,000, not Rs 56,000.
3. For the higher slab, a disability certificate showing 40 per cent or more disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 is accepted for the PWD category, and a transgender identity certificate issued by the District Magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 is accepted for the transgender category.
4. Subsidy is released directly to the Aadhaar-linked bank account of the beneficiary. It is never paid to the dealer.

How to apply for the Motorisation of Traditional Craft scheme

1. Register on the Go-Sugam portal at sugam.odisha.gov.in with a mobile number linked to your Aadhaar, and complete the registration process.
2. Fill the motorisation application with your personal details, boat registration number, marine extension unit, fishing licence validity and bank details.
3. Upload the checklist documents, QR-coded Aadhaar, residential proof if the Aadhaar does not establish it, caste certificate where claimed, first page of the bank passbook, boat registration certificate and up-to-date fishing licence.
4. Apply offline if the portal is difficult. Submit the prescribed Annexure-I form to the Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) or DFO (B&T), Balugaon through the Assistant Fisheries Officer of your marine extension unit. Every offline application must be uploaded to Go-Sugam by the AFO before a go-ahead is issued.
5. Boat verification. The AFO takes initial geo-tagged photographs of the boat with you in frame, prepares the field verification report in Annexure-II, and confirms that the engine you propose is completely new.
6. District Level Committee approval. The DFO (B&T) or Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) convenes the DLC under the Chairmanship of the Collector, as required by FARD notification 834/FARD dated 21 January 2023.
7. Collect the go-ahead letter in Annexure-III, then buy the engine from any authorised dealer of a brand approved by the Director of Fisheries. Pay online by RTGS, NEFT or UPI, since any item costing Rs 20,000 or more needs an online transaction receipt.
8. Install the engine and inform the AFO of your marine extension unit, who verifies it and files a proposal for a fresh ReAL Craft registration certificate carrying the new engine details.
9. Claim the subsidy. Submit the GST bill, tax invoice and utilisation certificate in Annexure-IV. After the AFO (Marine) uploads geo-tagged post-installation photographs showing the boat's registration details with you visible beside the asset, subsidy is released to your Aadhaar-linked account.

How are engines and dealers chosen?

This part of the scheme is often misunderstood. The Director of Fisheries approves brands and specifications, not dealers. The Additional Fisheries Officers (Marine) and DFO (B&T), Balugaon send the Directorate a list of engine brands that are in demand in their districts, with specifications and prices. The Directorate approves the list, and any authorised dealer of an approved brand may supply.

You are then free to buy from the authorised dealer of your choice, and only the engine variants named under the scheme are eligible for subsidy. Produce the actual GST bills for those items. Payment of Rs 20,000 or more to a supplier, whether in a single transaction or several, must be made through RTGS, NEFT or UPI, and the transaction receipt is mandatory for subsidy release.

How to check your motorisation application status

1. Log in to sugam.odisha.gov.in with your registered mobile number and open the dashboard, which shows the stage your application has reached.
2. Ask the Assistant Fisheries Officer of your marine extension unit whether the field verification report and geo-tagged boat photographs have been uploaded.
3. Ask the Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) of your district, or the DFO (B&T), Balugaon, whether your case went before the District Level Committee and whether the go-ahead letter has been issued.
4. After installation, follow up on the utilisation certificate and the DBT release.

Verification is layered. The AFO (Marine) physically verifies 100 per cent of completed cases. The DFO (B&T) or Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) cross-checks separately — 10 per cent of cases where subsidy is up to Rs 50,000, and 25 per cent of cases where subsidy runs from Rs 50,001 to Rs 84,000.

Why motorisation applications get rejected

• Engine subsidy already drawn under any government scheme inside the five-year cut-off window.
• Boat acquired by transfer from an owner who had motorised it on subsidy inside that window.
• Family already benefited under the same scheme within the last three years.
• Lapsed fishing licence, or a licence not renewed for three consecutive years.
• Boat not registered in Odisha on ReAL Craft, or ownership certificate missing.
• Second-hand or rebuilt engine, the AFO must certify that the proposed engine is completely new.
• Engine bought before the go-ahead letter, which makes it ineligible for back-ended subsidy.
• Cash payment above Rs 20,000 with no online transaction receipt.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-linked or held outside Odisha, which blocks DBT.

Help and grievance redressal

• Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine) of your coastal district, or the District Fisheries Officer (B&T), Balugaon. The implementing authority for this scheme.
• Assistant Fisheries Officer, Marine Extension Unit, your first point of contact for the application, boat verification and installation report.
• Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Department, Odisha, Lok Seva Bhavan, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751001. Telephone (0674) 2536985 and (0674) 2322960, fax (0674) 2390681, email fardsec.od@nic.in.
• Directorate of Fisheries, Odisha, Cuttack for escalation.

Applying is free, and no dealer or agent can charge you a fee to have your name added to the beneficiary list. Subsidy is paid to you, not to the engine dealer, so treat any demand for a "processing share" of the subsidy as a complaint to take to the Additional Fisheries Officer (Marine).