Union Budget 2026 has announced a Rs 10,000 crore scheme to support container manufacturing in the country.

The scheme will be implemented over five years and aims to build a strong and competitive container manufacturing ecosystem in India. The target is to create a domestic capacity of one million containers annually over the next ten years. The initiative is expected to create a market worth about Rs 80,000 crore, generate 3,000 direct employment, and support around 50,000 indirect roles across logistics, transport, and related industries.

Containers made in India are 30–40 percent costlier than those made in China due to higher raw material costs and fewer manufacturing facilities. Highlighting this issue, Hasmukh Viradiya, CMD of APPL Containers said, “If the government gives a subsidy to neutralise this cost difference, the problem can be solved.” He added that Chinese containers are cheaper by around USD 700–800 per unit.