Friday, 20 Jun, 2025
India, the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, now contributes nearly 8 percent to global fish production. Image Source: Agro Spectrum
Since 2018, the National Statistics Office (NSO) has been releasing EnviStats India in line with the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) 2013.
Inland fish production has grown significantly from 61.36 lakh tonnes in 2013–14 to 139.07 lakh tonnes in 2023–24, reflecting the expansion of inland aquaculture and freshwater fisheries. In contrast, marine fish production has seen a more modest increase, rising from 34.43 lakh tonnes to 44.95 lakh tonnes over the same period. The information was provided by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) through the 8th issue of the publication titled “EnviStats India 2025: Environment Statistics” during the National Workshop on Using Alternate Data Sources and Frontier Technologies for Policy Making on 5th June, 2025 in New Delhi.
Since 2018, the National Statistics Office (NSO) has been releasing EnviStats India in line with the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) 2013. The data featured in the publication are compiled using inputs from various Ministries, Departments, and Government of India organizations. Structured according to the six components of FDES 2013, EnviStats India 2025: Environment Statistics organizes related topics within each component to enhance clarity and usability.
This publication serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders, offering a detailed snapshot of India's environmental conditions. By analyzing key environmental indicators, it sheds light on emerging trends, highlights critical challenges, and supports the formulation of informed, evidence-based policies for environmental sustainability and resilience.
India, the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, now contributes nearly 8 percent to global fish production. Over the last two decades, the country’s fisheries sector has undergone remarkable transformation, driven by technological innovation, policy reforms, and sustained government investment. Between 2004 and 2024, India has steadily strengthened its global standing in fisheries and aquaculture.
Source: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
In a major boost to the sector, the Union Budget 2025–26 proposed the highest-ever annual budgetary allocation of ₹2,703.67 crore for fisheries. The move underscores the government’s continued commitment to modernizing and expanding the sector. As part of the broader financial reform, the lending limit under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme has also been enhanced from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh. This expansion aims to ease credit access for fishers, fish farmers, processors, and allied stakeholders, ensuring smoother availability of working capital.
The Blue Revolution, launched in 2015–16 with an outlay of ₹3,000 crore over five years, laid the foundation for the sector’s transformation. It focused on boosting production and productivity from both inland and marine resources through multi-pronged initiatives. However, to address systemic gaps across the fisheries value chain, a more comprehensive framework was introduced in 2020 with the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
PMMSY, with a five-year investment plan of ₹20,050 crore (2020–21 to 2024–25), is designed to elevate the sector while ensuring the socio-economic upliftment of fishers and fish farmers. The scheme emphasizes inland fisheries and aquaculture, recognizing their central role in enhancing national food security and livelihoods. A key component of PMMSY is the establishment of Fish Farmers Producer Organisations (FFPOs), which aim to economically empower stakeholders and improve their market leverage. So far, the Department of Fisheries has approved the formation of 2,195 FFPOs with a total project cost of ₹544.85 crore, including 2,000 fisheries cooperatives and 195 new FFPOs.
To support these reforms, the government extended Kisan Credit Card facilities to fishers in 2018–19. As of now, over 4.5 lakh KCCs have been sanctioned for the sector. Earlier, in 2018, the Finance Minister had announced the creation of a Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) with a corpus of ₹7,522.48 crore, further enhancing the infrastructure backbone of the industry.
The reform drive gained momentum again in 2024, with the Cabinet’s approval of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY). This Central Sector Sub-scheme under PMMSY will run from FY 2023–24 to FY 2026–27 with an estimated budget of ₹6,000 crore. Designed to tackle the sector’s structural weaknesses, PM-MKSSY seeks to introduce critical financial and technological interventions to facilitate long-term institutional reforms.
Together, these initiatives reflect a strategic, future-oriented approach to strengthening India’s fisheries sector, not only as a major economic engine but also as a vital pillar of rural livelihoods, nutritional security, and sustainable development.
