Economic Survey 2023 pushes for cargo movement through water bodies, ports

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Expansion of port capacity and development of inland waterways in India over the next few years will be key to lowering logistics costs in India, the Economic Survey for 2022-23, which was tabled in Parliament on January 31, has said.

The Economic Survey, which is an overview of the country's economy in the year gone by, suggests that the government recognises the cost advantage of moving goods through ports and inland waterways and further elevate inland water transport as a feasible mode for large-scale cargo and passenger movement.

The development of ports is crucial for the economy, as around 90 percent of India’s international trade by volume is handled through ports, said the survey tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a day ahead of the Union Budget.

"India possesses abundant rivers, canals, and waterways that carry unrealised potential for the transportation of goods and passengers. The total navigable length of waterways in India is around 14,850 kilometres," the survey said.

It added that development activities on 14 inland waterways have been initiated and altogether 26 such routes have been found to be viable for cargo movement.

The government, so far, has notified 111 inland waterways in the country.

West Bengal and Assam have been identified as the states with the most navigable inland waterways at 4,500 km and 2,000 km, respectively, the survey said.

It also said that in August 2021 the government passed the Inland Vessels Act 2021. "Various sections of this Act came into force in the year 2022 to support improved navigations, connectivity, operations and management.  The Act aims to bring uniformity in laws and regulations relating to inland waterways in the country," the survey said.

With the Inland Vessels Act 2021, state governments have the power to declare by notification any inland water area as a “zone” depending on the maximum significant wave height criteria as prescribed in the Act.

As per the Economic Survey, cargo movement on national waterways achieved an all-time high of 108.8 million tons during 2021-22, recording 30.1 percent growth compared to the previous year.

To further enhance port efficiency, the government is focusing on improving port governance, addressing low-capacity utilisation, modernising berths with techno-efficient loading/unloading equipment, and creating new channels for port connectivity.

“For streamlining the port compliances and for reducing the Turnaround Time (TAT) for vessels, big strides have been taken at the major ports towards the digitisation of key export-import (EXIM) processes,” the survey said.

The government has also launched the NLP-Marine in 2022, which will act as a Unified Digital Platform for all maritime stakeholders.