Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
COASTAL CARGO PROMOTION SCHEME
Posted On:
28 JUL 2026 4:39PM by PIB Delhi
In Union Budget 2026, it was announced to launch a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme to increase the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from 6% to 12% by 2047. At present, the proposed Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme is at formation stage.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has been actively pursuing the promotion of coastal shipping through various initiatives. In this regard, the Government has taken following measures:
40% concession on port charges (vessel and cargo-related charges) is provided for coastal cargo vessels.
Priority berthing policy for coastal vessels has been notified to reduce turnaround time for coastal vessels and improve their utilization.
GST on bunker fuel used by Indian-flag vessels has been reduced from 18% to 5%.
Green channel clearance introduced for faster evacuation of coastal cargo at ports.
The Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 enacted to promote coastal shipping.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has sanctioned 30 infrastructure development projects for financial assistance under the Sagarmala scheme to promote Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax and Passenger ferry services. Out of these, 18 projects worth ₹ 739 crore have been completed.
On account of completed projects, for instance, Ro-Pax ferry on the Ghogha– Hazira route in the state of Gujarat cuts a 12-hour road journey down to 4-hour sea route and Ro-Pax ferry on Mumbai –Mandwa route in the state of Maharashtra reduces travel time to Alibaug from 4 hours by road to just 1 hour by sea route.
The Ro-Pax and Passenger ferry services have benefited more than 65 lakh passengers and more than 15 lakh vehicles and cargo carrying trucks.
40% concession on port charges (vessel and cargo-related charges) is provided for coastal cargo vessels.
Dedicated coastal berths have been developed at 10 major ports. The details are available at Annexure-I
Annexure-I
|
S. No.
|
Port
|
No. of dedicated Coastal Berths
|
|
1
|
Chennai Port Authority (ChPA)
|
1
|
|
2
|
Cochin Port Authority (CoPA)
|
1
|
|
3
|
Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL)
|
2
|
|
4
|
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA)
|
1
|
|
5
|
Paradip Port Authority (PPA)
|
5
|
|
6
|
V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA)
|
1
|
|
7
|
Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA)
|
1
|
|
8
|
Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA)
|
3
|
|
9
|
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPA)
|
3
|
|
10
|
New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA)
|
2
|
This information was given by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
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MI/Indu
(Release ID: 2290481)
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