The Fisheries Department will explore the possibility of formulating a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for MSMEs in the seafood sector, an official statement said on Thursday.
The proposal is aimed at improving international competitiveness, strengthening export-oriented infrastructure, encouraging technology adoption, supporting research and development and promoting value addition, the statement said.
“The Department of Fisheries will explore developing a dedicated PLI scheme for MSMEs in the seafood sector,” the commerce ministry said.
It said that the proposed framework aims to substantially increase the share of value-added seafood products in India’s total seafood exports and expand the number of exporters from around 1,200 presently to 5,000 in the coming years.
The government has already implemented the PLI scheme for 14 sectors, with an outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore, including white goods, electronics and pharmaceuticals, to boost domestic manufacturing and exports.
Ministries chart roadmap for seafood export growth
Issues related to the fisheries sector were discussed during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh.
They deliberated on a roadmap for accelerating the growth of India’s seafood sector and strengthening the country’s global export competitiveness.
It was agreed to work towards enhancing the growth of seafood exports through a coordinated strategy focused on value addition, infrastructure development, product diversification, quality assurance, market expansion, deep-sea fishing and greater stakeholder participation.
As part of this initiative, a two-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ will be jointly organised by the ministries on 5-6 June 2026 at Visakhapatnam.
Focus on quality, traceability and export milestones
The meeting highlighted the need for an integrated approach towards addressing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues in aquaculture and capture fisheries.
“Efforts will be undertaken to strengthen traceability, quality assurance systems, disease-free zones and compliance with international food safety standards from the primary production stage onwards. Possibilities for GI tagging of seafood species and products will also be explored,” the ministry said.
India’s marine products exports have attained an unprecedented milestone, with seafood exports touching an all-time high of ₹72,325.82 crore (USD 8.28 billion) in 2025-26.
Published on May 14, 2026