Sagarmala Finance Corporation Launches India's First-Ever Blue Bond

29 September 2026National

Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL), India's first NBFC dedicated to the maritime sector, launched India's first-ever Blue Bond on 28 September 2026, targeting Rs 600 crore with a Rs 500 crore green shoe option. The 10-year paper will fund maritime lending, greenfield port projects and coastal road networks, and carries an AA+ rating from ICRA and CARE, with SBI Capital Markets as arranger. Blue bonds are debt instruments earmarked for ocean- and water-related projects, the sovereign template having been set by Seychelles in 2018. SMFCL, incorporated in August 2016, is a Mini Ratna Category-I CPSE under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

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The Sagarmala programme for port-led development was launched in 2015 | Seychelles issued the world's first sovereign blue bond in 2018 | Green bonds fund climate projects while blue bonds fund ocean and marine economy projects

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