India Targets 12% Coastal and Waterway Freight Share by 2047
India aims to double the share of coastal shipping and inland waterways in the country’s freight movement, from about 6% today to 12% by 2047. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal set out the target at a Consultative Committee meeting of his ministry held on 3 November in Puri, the temple town on Odisha’s Bay of Bengal coast in eastern India.
Minister of State Shantanu Thakur, eight Members of Parliament and the ministry’s secretary attended. The meeting heard that coastal cargo at Indian ports has grown from 74 million to 177 million tonnes in 12 years, a rise of about 140%.
The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the 2026-27 Union Budget, and the Cruise Bharat Mission are expected to create more than 5.6 lakh jobs and save 1.6 crore tonnes of carbon dioxide. India handled 4,62,661 cruise passengers and 212 cruise ships in 2025-26 and targets 10 lakh passengers and 4 lakh jobs by March 2029. Twenty river cruise circuits already run on 16 national waterways, with 51 more identified.
For Odisha, the ministry highlighted the planned Puri International Cruise Terminal, worth about Rs 1,500 crore, being developed by the Paradip Port Authority and the state government, and National Waterway-5, a project of over Rs 13,000 crore linking the Talcher and Kalinganagar industrial areas to east coast ports.
For Indian seafarers, more coastal, river and cruise traffic means more Indian-flag coastal ships, inland vessels and cruise calls, creating jobs for officers, ratings and inland vessel crews closer to home.
