Will up shipping share in cargo mix to 10% by 2020, says Centre

"The government envisions increasing the share of coastal shipping in modal cargo mix to 10 per cent by 2020 from the current share so as to reduce the over-dependence on road and rail sectors for domestic cargo transportation," Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan told Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Monday. 

Radhakrishnan said the government has also given in-principle approval to setting up of four new ports at Colachal in Tamil Nadu, Sagar in West Bengal, Durgarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Vadhawan in Maharashtra.

India has 12 major ports under the control of the Centre besides 205 non-major ports under the purview of state governments/ union territories, he said. The percentage share of cargo handled by major ports in 2015-16 stood at 56.5 per cent as against 43.5 per cent by non-major ports, the minister said.