India is targeting an increase in the share of coastal and inland waterway shipping in the country’s freight movement from the current 6% to 12% by 2047. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal announced the target at a meeting of the Ministry’s Consultative Committee on coastal and cruise shipping held in Puri, Odisha, on November 3, 2026.
The government plans to achieve the target through the proposed Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and the Cruise Bharat Mission. The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, will provide incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators to encourage the movement of goods through coastal shipping and waterways, including combined ship, rail and road transport.
Sonowal also announced that the Puri International Cruise Terminal will be developed by Paradip Port Authority in partnership with the Government of Odisha, at an estimated cost of ₹1,500 crore. The project is expected to strengthen cruise tourism infrastructure in the state and expand passenger-handling facilities along India’s eastern coastline.
Highlighting the growth of coastal cargo movement, the minister said cargo handled through coastal shipping at Indian ports had increased from 74 million tonnes to 177 million tonnes over the past 12 years, registering growth of around 140%. India has a coastline of more than 11,000 km, which offers scope for shifting a larger share of freight movement from road and rail to coastal routes.
The government is also targeting one million sea cruise passengers by 2029 under the Cruise Bharat Mission, which was launched in September 2024. During the financial year 2025-26, India recorded 462,661 ocean cruise passengers and 212 vessel calls. Passenger traffic increased 5.5 times and vessel calls 2.1 times compared with 2013-14. The mission also aims to generate 400,000 jobs by March 2029.
In the inland waterways segment, 20 river cruise circuits across 16 National Waterways are currently operational, while another 51 circuits have been identified for phased development. A total of 143 river cruise terminals and landing points are operational across the country.
The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and Cruise Bharat Mission are together expected to generate more than 560,000 jobs and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 million tonnes, according to the ministry.
Sonowal also highlighted the development of National Waterway-5 in Odisha, which is estimated to require an investment of more than ₹13,000 crore. The waterway is planned to connect industrial and mining centres, including Talcher and Kalinganagar, with ports along the eastern coast, facilitating freight movement from the state’s industrial belt.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur and members of Parliament, who discussed measures to strengthen coastal and cruise shipping infrastructure.