India’s inland waterways cargo hits record 145.84 MMT in FY25

India’s inland waterways cargo hit a record 145.84 MMT in FY25, while passenger traffic surged sharply. The government plans to expand operational waterways, boost coastal shipping, and double modal share by 2047, strengthening infrastructure, efficiency, and logistics capacity nationwide

New Delhi: Cargo transportation in India through its National Waterways reached an all-time high of 145.84 million metric tonnes in FY25, and passenger traffic jumped to 7.6 crore in 2024-25 from 1.61 crore the year before, the government said on Monday.

India now has a network of 111 National Waterways totalling 20,187 km in length, with 32 waterways currently operational covering 5,155 km, an official statement said. The number of operational waterways is projected to increase to 52 in the next 5 years, it said.

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Cargo transportation on NWs reached 145.84 million metric tonnes in FY25, and 198 MMT (till February 2026) in FY26. The combined cargo handling capacity of major ports rose from 555 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) in FY14 to 1,681 MTPA in FY25. Moreover, the turnaround time for container vessels declined substantially from 41.76 hours in 2013-14 to 28.5 hours in 2024-25.

Union Budget 2026-27 announced the operationalisation of 20 new National Waterways over the next five years and introduced a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme to shift cargo from road and rail to water transport. The policy push aims to increase the combined share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2047.

In line with this vision, the government will operationalise National Waterway-5 in Odisha to connect the mineral-rich regions of Talcher and Angul with industrial centres such as Kalinga Nagar and with the ports of Paradip and Dhamra. Training institutes will be established as Regional Centres of Excellence along the NW-5 stretch to develop skilled manpower and benefit local youth.

Further, a dedicated ship repair ecosystem for inland waterways will be set up in Varanasi and Patna. As per Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision, India plans to raise the Inland Water Transport modal share from 2 per cent to 5 per cent and expand cargo volumes to more than 200 MMT by 2030 and 500 MMT by 2047.