Union Budget 2026: Water & road connectivity gets on cleaner, faster lane
Govt on Sunday unveiled a series of announcements to boost inland waterways and increase the share of cargo transport by coastal shipping, aiming to reduce logistics costs, improve connectivity and support sustainable transport solutions. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said govt will operationalise 20 inland waterways, including National Waterway-5 (Mahanadi), that will connect mineral-rich Talcher and Angul to industrial centres like Kalinga Nagar and Paradeep and Dhamra ports in Odisha.Shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the number of national waterways will increase from the current 32 to 52 in the next five years, facilitating a cleaner mode of transport for cargo and passengers. Govt also announced the setting up of a dedicated ship repair ecosystem catering to inland waterways at Varanasi and Patna. The Budget also announced the launch of a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme toincrease the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from the current 6% to 12% by 2047.The govt allocated around Rs 3 lakh crore for the road transport ministry for 202627, which is 9% higher than for the current fiscal year. With around Rs 2.9 lakh crore allocated for capital expenditure, the road ministry has received the maximum allocation for asset creation.The FM also announced the setting up of an Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to provide “prudently calibrated partial credit guarantees to lenders” to strengthen the confidence of private developers.
