What is the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB)?

The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is an autonomous body under the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, set up in 2006 and headquartered in Hyderabad. NFDB is the central implementing arm for fisheries and aquaculture development, coordinating between the Central Government, State/UT Departments of Fisheries, ICAR fisheries institutes, coastal-aquaculture regulators and export-development bodies. Today it is the principal Central Sector implementing agency for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and delivers programmes across inland and marine fisheries, aquaculture, brackishwater and cold-water fisheries, mariculture, ornamental fisheries, seaweed and cage culture in reservoirs, along with post-harvest, cold-chain and market infrastructure.

How is NFDB different from PMMSY?

PMMSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana) is a five-year umbrella scheme — approved by the Union Cabinet on 20 May 2020 and launched on 10 September 2020 with a ₹20,050 crore outlay for FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 — with a Central Sector (CS) and a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) component and clearly defined activities, unit costs and cost-share norms. NFDB is the institutional implementing agency that operationalises the CS component of PMMSY at the national level and provides technical backstopping to states for the CSS component. Put simply: PMMSY is the scheme; NFDB is one of the central bodies that executes it — alongside ICAR fisheries institutes, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority and MPEDA/NaCSA. See our /pmmsy deep-dive for the scheme itself.

How can a fish farmer, cooperative or FPO apply for an NFDB-supported scheme?

Individual fish farmers, cooperatives, SHGs, FPOs and entrepreneurs do not apply centrally to NFDB. Beneficiary-oriented activities under PMMSY (cage culture, RAS units, Biofloc, shrimp ponds, ornamental fish units, ice plants, insulated trucks, fish kiosks and so on) are applied for through the state Department of Fisheries — the District Fisheries Officer (DFO) is the first point of contact — with a project proposal or Detailed Project Report (DPR), Aadhaar, bank details, land or pond lease and, where applicable, a Coastal Aquaculture Authority environmental plan. The state proposes the activity in its Annual Action Plan to the Department of Fisheries, GoI, and NFDB provides technical and monitoring inputs. See the full application flow in our /pmmsy guide.

Does NFDB directly fund individual fish farmers?

NFDB, as an autonomous implementing body, does not typically transfer cash grants directly to individual fish farmers — the direct-benefit component flows to the beneficiary through the state Department of Fisheries under PMMSY's Beneficiary-Oriented sub-component, with government financial assistance of 60% of unit cost for women, SC and ST beneficiaries and 40% for general beneficiaries; the balance is the beneficiary's contribution, typically financed through a Kisan Credit Card for fisheries or a bank loan. What NFDB does directly fund at the national level are Central Sector activities such as national broodbanks, disease surveillance, the Sagar Mitra cadre, national training programmes and technical assistance projects.

Does NFDB support ornamental fish and seaweed farming?

Yes. Ornamental fisheries and seaweed cultivation are two of NFDB's identified focus areas. On ornamental fisheries NFDB supports cluster projects for backyard and small commercial units — particularly for women SHGs and rural youth — covering breeding tanks, aquarium fabrication and market linkage. On seaweed, NFDB supports Kappaphycus alvarezii and other commercial seaweed cultivation along the Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Lakshadweep coast through seed banks, rafts and tube nets, in convergence with the PMMSY seaweed-cluster push and the Kilakarai / Mandapam and Bhavnagar seaweed park proposals. Both streams are executed through the state Department of Fisheries with NFDB technical support.

National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) — India's apex fisheries implementing body

The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is an autonomous body under the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, set up in 2006 and headquartered at Pillar No. 235, PVNR Expressway, SVPNPA Post, Hyderabad. NFDB is the central implementing arm for fisheries and aquaculture development — the principal Central Sector executing agency for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the technical backstop for state fisheries departments across inland and marine fisheries, aquaculture, brackishwater and cold-water fisheries, mariculture, ornamental fisheries, seaweed and cage culture in reservoirs.

At a glance

Organisation: National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB); autonomous body under the Department of Fisheries.
Established: 2006.
Head Office: Pillar No. 235, PVNR Expressway, SVPNPA Post, Hyderabad, Telangana.
Parent department: Department of Fisheries — dof.gov.in.
Parent ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
Governance: Governing Body chaired by the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying; Executive Committee for project-level sanction; Chief Executive leads day-to-day operations.
Flagship role: principal Central Sector implementing agency for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) — the ₹20,050 crore fisheries flagship.
Focus areas: inland fisheries, marine fisheries, aquaculture, brackishwater, cold-water fisheries, mariculture, ornamental fisheries, seaweed, cage culture in reservoirs, cold chain and post-harvest infrastructure.
Portal: nfdb.gov.in.
Related deep-dives: PMMSY · PM-MKSSY · KCC for fisheries · MPEDA · AIF · All schemes.

Why NFDB was set up

India is the world's second-largest fish producer and its fisheries sector contributes meaningfully to agricultural GVA, rural livelihoods, nutrition security and exports. Before 2006, however, fisheries development was dispersed across State Directorates and multiple central schemes, with limited Central-level capacity for integrated planning, national programmes and technology diffusion. NFDB was set up in 2006 as an autonomous body under the then Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (now the Department of Fisheries in its own right under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying) to give the sector a dedicated national implementing arm — one that could coordinate across ICAR fisheries institutes, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority, MPEDA, State Fisheries Departments and financing bodies, and drive integrated development of production, post-harvest, marketing and extension.

Governance and structure

NFDB is governed by a Governing Body chaired by the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, with the Ministers of State, the Secretary of the Department of Fisheries, senior officers of Central and State Governments and fisheries experts as members. Day-to-day operations are led by the Chief Executive of NFDB. A separate Executive Committeeprovides project-level sanction and monitoring under the Governing Body's overall policy direction. Functional wings at headquarters — inland fisheries, marine fisheries, aquaculture, post-harvest and marketing, training, monitoring and evaluation, and administration — deliver the operational portfolio, working closely with State Fisheries Departments as the last-mile implementation channel.

Focus areas

NFDB works across the full fisheries and aquaculture value chain. Its identified focus areas — reflected across programme documents and PMMSY implementation — are:

Inland fisheries and freshwater aquaculture. The largest slice of NFDB's programme portfolio — Indian Major Carps (rohu, catla, mrigal), pangasius, tilapia, minor carps and indigenous species raised in ponds, tanks and reservoirs. NFDB supports pond renovation, fish seed and brood banks, Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), Biofloc tanks, cage culture in inland reservoirs, integrated fish farming and quality inputs.
Marine fisheries and mariculture. Coastal and open-sea fisheries — deep-sea vessels with on-board chillers, replacement of traditional craft with safety upgrades (GPS, VHF, communication and biotoilets), sea cages, artificial reefs, sea ranching, seaweed cultivation and mariculture demonstration units in coastal states.
Brackishwater aquaculture. Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei, P. monodon) and scampi (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) farming — hatcheries, brood-banks, farm-level pond construction and renovation, and traceability tie-ups with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) and MPEDA's NaCSA arm.
Cold-water fisheries. Rainbow and brown trout and other cold-water species in the Himalayan and North-Eastern states — hatchery infrastructure, raceway construction and cluster development in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and other hill states.
Ornamental fisheries. Backyard and unit-level ornamental fish rearing — a livelihood enterprise NFDB has supported through cluster projects for women SHGs and rural youth, with training, breeding units, aquarium fabrication and market linkage to urban ornamental-fish trade.
Cage culture in reservoirs. One of NFDB's signature programmes — deploying HDPE cages in India's large inland reservoirs to raise carps, pangasius and tilapia, unlocking underutilised freshwater surface area for aquaculture without pond-side land requirements.
Seaweed cultivation. Kappaphycus alvarezii and other commercial seaweeds along the Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Lakshadweep coast — NFDB supports seed banks, rafts and tube nets, and value-addition demonstrations aligned with the PMMSY seaweed-cluster push and the Kilakarai / Mandapam and Bhavnagar seaweed park proposals.
Post-harvest, cold chain and market infrastructure. Insulated and refrigerated transport, motorised three-wheelers with ice-box, ice plants, cold storages, modern fish landing centres, wholesale fish markets, urban retail Matsya Aahar Kendras and mobile fish kiosks — the value-chain layer that reduces post-harvest losses (historically 20-25%) and puts hygienically handled fish within reach of urban consumers.

Key programmes and activities NFDB delivers

Fish seed and brood banks. Genetically improved, disease-free brood-stock and quality fish seed for carps, pangasius, tilapia and shrimp — supported through state hatcheries, ICAR-linked broodbanks and NFDB-financed unit expansions.
Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and Biofloc. High-density, water-recycling tank systems (RAS) for intensive freshwater and brackish-water culture, and Biofloc tanks for low-water, low-feed protein production — NFDB supports beneficiary units under PMMSY unit-cost norms.
Cage culture in inland reservoirs. Battery HDPE cages in reservoirs — a scalable route for carps, pangasius and tilapia — with NFDB-supported technical protocols, seed sourcing and post-harvest linkage.
Ornamental fisheries units. Backyard-scale and small commercial ornamental units — cluster projects with training, breeding tanks, aquarium fabrication and market linkage; a popular enterprise for women SHGs and rural youth.
Cold chain, ice plants and reefer transport. Insulated trucks, refrigerated vehicles, motorised three-wheelers with ice-box, ice plants and modern cold storages — the backbone of hygienic post-harvest movement.
Modern fish markets and retail kiosks. Wholesale fish markets, urban retail outlets (Matsya Aahar Kendras) and mobile fish kiosks under PMMSY — mostly state-implemented under NFDB-supervised technical norms.
Sagar Mitra extension cadre. Community extension workers drawn from coastal villages, trained by NFDB and state fisheries departments to relay Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) and weather advisories from INCOIS, collect catch and effort data, and assist fishers with social-security enrolment.
Skill development and training. NFDB partners with ICAR fisheries institutes — CIFRI Barrackpore (inland), CMFRI Kochi (marine), CIFE Mumbai (education), CIBA Chennai (brackish-water) and CIFA Bhubaneswar (freshwater aquaculture) — and NIFPHATT Kochi for hands-on training of fish farmers, entrepreneurs and state officers on modern aquaculture, post-harvest and marketing.

NFDB as the implementing agency for PMMSY

The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) — approved by the Union Cabinet on 20 May 2020, launched by the Prime Minister on 10 September 2020, with a total outlay of ₹20,050 crore for FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 — has a Central Sector (CS) component and a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) component. NFDB is the principal Central Sector implementing agency for PMMSY at the national level. In practical terms this means NFDB:

Executes national-level programmes funded under the CS component — brood-banks for SPF shrimp, the National Fisheries Sector Digital Platform under PM-MKSSY, disease surveillance, aqua-one-health work, resource-assessment surveys and skill-development modules.
Anchors the Sagar Mitra coastal extension cadre — community workers trained to relay PFZ / weather advisories from INCOIS, collect catch data and assist with fisher social-security registration.
Provides technical backstopping to State Fisheries Departments implementing the CSS-Beneficiary-Oriented (BO) and CSS-Non-Beneficiary-Oriented (NBO) sub-components — from unit-cost norms and DPR templates to project-monitoring dashboards and geo-tagging protocols.
Coordinates with ICAR fisheries institutes (CIFRI Barrackpore, CMFRI Kochi, CIFE Mumbai, CIBA Chennai, CIFA Bhubaneswar), the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), MPEDA and its NaCSA arm, and NIFPHATT Kochi on scheme-linked technology, traceability and training work.

Fish farmers, cooperatives, SHGs, FPOs and entrepreneurs seeking PMMSY assistance apply through the state Department of Fisheries — see the step-by-step flow in our PMMSY deep-dive. NFDB's role in that flow is technical review, national-level coordination and release of the Central share for eligible activities routed through it.

Who benefits from NFDB-supported programmes

Individual fish farmers — pond, cage, RAS, Biofloc, shrimp and cold-water culture operators.
Fisher cooperatives and Primary Fishermen Co-operative Societies — cluster-level infrastructure such as hatcheries, ice plants, landing centres and market kiosks.
Women SHGs — ornamental fisheries, small-scale post-harvest handling, retail kiosks and value-addition units.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in fisheries — aggregation, cold-chain, primary processing and market linkage.
Fisheries entrepreneurs and MSMEs — commercial hatcheries, feed-mills, RAS and Biofloc units, processing and cold-chain assets.
Sea-going marine fishers — vessel replacement with safety upgrades, group accident insurance and livelihood support during the closed-season fishing ban.
State Fisheries Departments and cooperative federations — capacity building, training and public infrastructure (fishing harbours, landing centres, wholesale markets).

How to engage with NFDB

Start with the NFDB portal at nfdb.gov.in for the current programme portfolio, national tenders, EOIs, unit-cost norms and training calendar.
For a PMMSY beneficiary activity, approach the District Fisheries Officer (DFO) in your district. The DFO is the first point of contact — see our PMMSY guide for the DPR / Aadhaar / bank / land-lease document checklist and the state Annual Action Plan route.
For working-capital financing of the beneficiary contribution, apply for a Kisan Credit Card for fisheries and animal husbandry — the allied-activity KCC extended to fisheries since 2018-19 with a working-capital ceiling of typically ₹2 lakh at an effective 4% interest rate on prompt repayment.
For capital-intensive post-harvest assets — cold chain, processing, wholesale fish markets — layer an Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) loan with a 3% interest subvention and CGTMSE-backed credit guarantee up to ₹2 crore on top of the PMMSY subsidy.
For brackish-water and marine components, register with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) and, for exports, with MPEDA and its NaCSA farm-cluster societies for traceability compliance.
For training on modern aquaculture, post-harvest handling, RAS, Biofloc, ornamental and cold-water fisheries, watch the NFDB training calendar and the ICAR fisheries-institute schedules — most modules are open to farmers, SHG members, FPO CEOs and state fisheries officers.

What NFDB does NOT do

NFDB is not a fisheries regulator. Coastal aquaculture regulation is with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) under the CAA Act 2005; marine fisheries in territorial waters are with State governments and beyond with the Union.
NFDB is not the export-development body. Marine and fisheries exports are developed and regulated by MPEDA under the Department of Commerce; NaCSA is MPEDA's farm-cluster traceability arm.
NFDB is not the research council. Fisheries research is with ICAR's fisheries institutes — CIFRI (inland), CMFRI (marine), CIFE (education), CIBA (brackishwater) and CIFA (freshwater aquaculture) — with which NFDB collaborates but does not subsume.
NFDB does not typically transfer cash grants directly to individual fish farmers. Direct-benefit assistance under PMMSY flows to the beneficiary through the state Department of Fisheries; NFDB implements Central-Sector national programmes and provides technical backstopping.

Frequently asked questions

What is the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB)?: The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is an autonomous body under the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, set up in 2006 and headquartered in Hyderabad. NFDB is the central implementing arm for fisheries and aquaculture development, coordinating between the Central Government, State/UT Departments of Fisheries, ICAR fisheries institutes, coastal-aquaculture regulators and export-development bodies. Today it is the principal Central Sector implementing agency for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and delivers programmes across inland and marine fisheries, aquaculture, brackishwater and cold-water fisheries, mariculture, ornamental fisheries, seaweed and cage culture in reservoirs, along with post-harvest, cold-chain and market infrastructure.
How is NFDB different from PMMSY?: PMMSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana) is a five-year umbrella scheme — approved by the Union Cabinet on 20 May 2020 and launched on 10 September 2020 with a ₹20,050 crore outlay for FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 — with a Central Sector (CS) and a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) component and clearly defined activities, unit costs and cost-share norms. NFDB is the institutional implementing agency that operationalises the CS component of PMMSY at the national level and provides technical backstopping to states for the CSS component. Put simply: PMMSY is the scheme; NFDB is one of the central bodies that executes it — alongside ICAR fisheries institutes, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority and MPEDA/NaCSA. See our /pmmsy deep-dive for the scheme itself.
How can a fish farmer, cooperative or FPO apply for an NFDB-supported scheme?: Individual fish farmers, cooperatives, SHGs, FPOs and entrepreneurs do not apply centrally to NFDB. Beneficiary-oriented activities under PMMSY (cage culture, RAS units, Biofloc, shrimp ponds, ornamental fish units, ice plants, insulated trucks, fish kiosks and so on) are applied for through the state Department of Fisheries — the District Fisheries Officer (DFO) is the first point of contact — with a project proposal or Detailed Project Report (DPR), Aadhaar, bank details, land or pond lease and, where applicable, a Coastal Aquaculture Authority environmental plan. The state proposes the activity in its Annual Action Plan to the Department of Fisheries, GoI, and NFDB provides technical and monitoring inputs. See the full application flow in our /pmmsy guide.
Does NFDB directly fund individual fish farmers?: NFDB, as an autonomous implementing body, does not typically transfer cash grants directly to individual fish farmers — the direct-benefit component flows to the beneficiary through the state Department of Fisheries under PMMSY's Beneficiary-Oriented sub-component, with government financial assistance of 60% of unit cost for women, SC and ST beneficiaries and 40% for general beneficiaries; the balance is the beneficiary's contribution, typically financed through a Kisan Credit Card for fisheries or a bank loan. What NFDB does directly fund at the national level are Central Sector activities such as national broodbanks, disease surveillance, the Sagar Mitra cadre, national training programmes and technical assistance projects.
Where is NFDB headquartered and how is it governed?: NFDB is headquartered at Pillar No. 235, PVNR Expressway, SVPNPA Post, Hyderabad, Telangana. It is governed by a Governing Body chaired by the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying with the Ministers of State, the Secretary of the Department of Fisheries, senior officers of Central and State Governments and fisheries experts as members. Day-to-day operations are led by the Chief Executive of NFDB, supported by functional wings for inland fisheries, marine fisheries, aquaculture, post-harvest, training and administration. A separate Executive Committee provides project-level sanction and monitoring under the Governing Body's overall policy direction.
Does NFDB support ornamental fish and seaweed farming?: Yes. Ornamental fisheries and seaweed cultivation are two of NFDB's identified focus areas. On ornamental fisheries NFDB supports cluster projects for backyard and small commercial units — particularly for women SHGs and rural youth — covering breeding tanks, aquarium fabrication and market linkage. On seaweed, NFDB supports Kappaphycus alvarezii and other commercial seaweed cultivation along the Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Lakshadweep coast through seed banks, rafts and tube nets, in convergence with the PMMSY seaweed-cluster push and the Kilakarai / Mandapam and Bhavnagar seaweed park proposals. Both streams are executed through the state Department of Fisheries with NFDB technical support.

Official sources

National Fisheries Development Board — nfdb.gov.in (organisation, programme portfolio, tenders and training).
Department of Fisheries — dof.gov.in (parent department; PMMSY guidelines and annual reports).
PMMSY portal — pmmsy.dof.gov.in (operational guidelines, unit-cost norms, state-wise progress).
Coastal Aquaculture Authority — caa.gov.in (registration and environmental compliance for brackish-water aquaculture).
MPEDA — mpeda.gov.in (marine products export development and NaCSA traceability).
Press Information Bureau — pib.gov.in (Cabinet press releases on PMMSY approval of 20 May 2020, PMMSY launch of 10 September 2020 and PM-MKSSY approval of 8 February 2024).

NFDB's 2006 establishment, autonomous-body status under the Department of Fisheries, Hyderabad headquarters, Governing-Body composition chaired by the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, focus areas across inland, marine, brackishwater and cold-water fisheries, and role as the principal Central Sector implementing agency for PMMSY are drawn from the NFDB portal at nfdb.gov.in, the Department of Fisheries site at dof.gov.in and PIB releases on PMMSY and PM-MKSSY. Programme portfolios, unit costs and state-implementation terms evolve — beneficiaries, FPOs and researchers should verify the current position on nfdb.gov.in and with the state Department of Fisheries before quoting them.