The 2026-27 budget announced in January 2026 has the following:
36. To promote environmentally sustainable movement of cargo, I propose to: a) Establish new Dedicated Freight Corridors connecting Dankuni in the East, to Surat in the West; b) operationalise 20 new National Waterways (NW) over next 5 years, starting with NW-5 in Odisha to connect mineral rich areas of Talcher and Angul and industrial centres like Kalinga Nagar to the Ports of Paradeep and Dhamra. Training Institutes will be set up as Regional Centres of Excellence for development of the required manpower. This will benefit youth in the entire stretch of the waterways to train and acquire skills.
Further, a ship repair ecosystem catering to inland waterways will also be set up at Varanasi and Patna; c) launch a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme for incentivising a modal shift from rail and road, to increase the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from 6 % to 12 % by 2047.
36. To promote environmentally sustainable movement of cargo, I propose to: a) Establish new Dedicated Freight Corridors connecting Dankuni in the East, to Surat in the West; b) operationalise 20 new National Waterways (NW) over next 5 years, starting with NW-5 in Odisha to connect mineral rich areas of Talcher and Angul and industrial centres like Kalinga Nagar to the Ports of Paradeep and Dhamra. Training Institutes will be set up as Regional Centres of Excellence for development of the required manpower. This will benefit youth in the entire stretch of the waterways to train and acquire skills.
Further, a ship repair ecosystem catering to inland waterways will also be set up at Varanasi and Patna; c) launch a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme for incentivising a modal shift from rail and road, to increase the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from 6 % to 12 % by 2047.