Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and Cruise Bharat Mission will boost coastal freight and cruise traffic.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said the government is working to double the share of coastal and inland waterway shipping in India’s freight movement from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2047 and to attract 1 million sea cruise passengers by 2029. He was speaking at a Consultative Committee meeting in Puri, Odisha, where he named two proposed initiatives, the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and the Cruise Bharat Mission.
Mr Sonowal also announced that the Puri International Cruise Terminal will be developed by the Paradip Port Authority in partnership with the Government of Odisha, at a likely cost of Rs 1,500 crore. The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the 2026-27 budget, will offer incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators.
Coastal cargo at Indian ports has risen from 74 million metric tonnes to 177 million metric tonnes over the past 12 years, growth of about 140 per cent, Mr Sonowal said. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, India recorded 462,661 ocean cruise passengers and 212 vessel calls. The Cruise Bharat Mission, launched in September 2024, targets 1 million sea cruise passengers and 400,000 jobs by March 2029.
Source: Press Information Bureau
