Sagarmala Programme

Geography glossary

Also called: Sagarmala · Topic: Transport and Communication in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Sagarmala Programme is the Union government's programme for port-led development, launched in March 2015. Port-led development means using ports to drive growth: ports are made cheaper and faster to use, and industry, jobs and transport links are then built around them [1]. Its name means "garland of the sea".

It matters because about 95% of India's foreign trade by volume and about 70% by value goes by sea (2026) [1]. Sagarmala aims to cut India's high logistics costs by moving more cargo by coastal shipping and inland waterways, alongside road and rail [1].

Explanation

Why it was needed

  • India's freight leans heavily on roads.
  • Road transport costs more and pollutes more.

  • India also has a long coastline and nearly 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways that it was not using fully [1].

  • Bulky, low-value goods are best moved by water.

  • Crude oil, coal, iron ore and fertilisers travel by sea.

  • This is why the sea's share of trade is higher by volume (95%) than by value (70%) [1].

  • Slow ports raise costs.

  • Average vessel turnaround time is the time a ship spends at a port, from arrival to departure.
  • It was 96 hours in 2014 [1].

The five pillars (divided into 24 categories) [1]

Pillar What it does
1. Port modernisation and new port development Upgrades old ports, builds new ones, and adds machines and digital systems
2. Port connectivity enhancement Builds road, rail, coastal and inland-waterway links between ports and the hinterland (the inland area a port serves)
3. Port-led industrialisation Builds industrial clusters near ports, such as Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs), so factories pay less to ship goods
4. Coastal community development Skills training, fisheries, fishing harbours and coastal tourism
5. Coastal shipping and inland waterways transport Moves cargo by sea or river, which is cheaper and cleaner than by road

How it is run [1]

  • National Sagarmala Apex Committee (May 2015): the top body that guides the programme.
  • Maritime States Development Council: brings the Centre and the states together.
  • State Sagarmala Committees: each coastal state uses one to pick and track its projects.
  • Sagarmala Development Company (August 2016):
  • In June 2025 it was turned into the Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited.
  • This is India's first maritime-sector NBFC. An NBFC (non-banking finance company) is a company that lends money but is not a bank.

Progress and the next phase

  • Progress as of 24 March 2026 [1]:
  • 845 projects worth ₹6.06 lakh crore have been taken up.
  • 315 projects worth ₹1.57 lakh crore are complete. 210 are being built and 320 are being planned.
  • 11 fishing harbours (₹1,057 crore) are complete and benefit more than 30,000 fishers.
  • 7 coastal berths (₹494 crore) are complete. They added 9.84 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of capacity.
  • Ro-Pax ships carry both vehicles and passengers. 29 Ro-Pax and ferry projects (₹1,233 crore) were taken up, and 17 are complete.

  • Expected jobs: about 1 crore (40 lakh direct and 60 lakh indirect).

  • Results seen at the major ports [1]:

  • Turnaround time fell from 96 hours (2014) to 49.5 hours (2025).
  • In FY 2025-26 the major ports handled a record 915.17 MT of cargo, against a target of 904 MT. This was 7.06% more than the year before.

  • Inland waterway cargo rose from 18.10 MT (FY 2013-14) to 145.50 MT (FY 2024-25).

  • Sagarmala 2.0 [1]:

  • It is the next phase of the programme.
  • Budget support is ₹85,482 crore, and it aims to bring in ₹3.6 lakh crore of total investment.
  • It adds island development and maritime research.
  • Two long-term plans guide it. Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 is the ten-year plan for ports, shipping and waterways. Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision (MAKV) 2047 is the longer plan, linked to Viksit Bharat 2047.

Where it occurs

  • Area covered: India's whole coastline and its waterways.
  • The coastline was remeasured in 2024 as 11,098.81 km using detailed digital maps. NCERT Class 12 gives the older figure of 7,517 km.

  • It covers 12 major ports and over 200 non-major ports (2026) [1].

  • Who runs it:

  • The Union government leads, through the National Sagarmala Apex Committee (2015).
  • The coastal states take part through the Maritime States Development Council and the State Sagarmala Committees [1].

  • Major ports come under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Non-major ports come under the State Maritime Boards [1].

  • Named examples [1]:

  • Ghogha–Hazira Ro-Pax (Gujarat): crosses the Gulf of Khambhat. The trip drops from about 10 hours by road to about 4 hours by sea.
  • Mumbai–Mandwa ferry (Maharashtra): an 18.5 km sea route replaces a 109 km road journey.

  • Malpe fishing harbour (Karnataka): one of the 11 completed fishing harbours.

  • Islands: ships link the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Bay of Bengal) and Lakshadweep (Arabian Sea) with the mainland. Sagarmala 2.0 adds island development [1].

Don't confuse with

  • Bharatmala: Bharatmala is the road and highway programme. Sagarmala is the programme for ports, coastal shipping and waterways.
  • Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs): CEZs are not a separate scheme. They come under Sagarmala's third pillar, port-led industrialisation [1].
  • Sagarmala Development Company vs Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited: the Development Company was set up in August 2016. It became the Finance Corporation, India's first maritime-sector NBFC, in June 2025 [1].
  • MIV 2030 / MAKV 2047: these are long-term vision plans that guide Sagarmala. They are not the programme itself [1].

Prelims Hooks

  • Sagarmala means "garland of the sea". It was launched in March 2015 and has 5 pillars divided into 24 categories [1].
  • Ghogha–Hazira Ro-Pax crosses the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat, not the Gulf of Kutch [1].
  • Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (June 2025) is India's first maritime-sector NBFC [1].
  • As of 24 March 2026: 845 projects worth ₹6.06 lakh crore, of which 315 are complete [1].
  • Sagarmala 2.0: budget support of ₹85,482 crore, aiming for ₹3.6 lakh crore of investment. It adds island development and maritime research [1].
  • Trap: the coastline went from 7,517 km to 11,098.81 km because of a new way of measuring it in 2024, not because land was added.

Mains Points

  • Port-led development to cut logistics costs (GS-III, infrastructure):
  • Road still carries most freight, so logistics costs stay high.
  • Sagarmala moves cargo to coastal shipping and inland waterways, which are cheaper and cleaner.

  • Results: turnaround time almost halved (96 h → 49.5 h), record major-port cargo of 915.17 MT in FY 2025-26, and inland waterway cargo up from 18.10 MT to 145.50 MT [1].

  • Linking ports to the hinterland and to industry (GS-I, distribution of economic activity):

  • Connectivity projects and CEZs bring factories close to ports.

  • This matters most where ports are unevenly spread. The west coast, led by Gujarat with its deep gulfs and rich north-west hinterland, handles a large share of cargo. The east coast needs better corridors to serve its hinterland.

  • Inclusive coastal growth (GS-III):

  • The coastal community pillar funds fishing harbours (11 complete, benefiting more than 30,000 fishers), skills training and tourism. About 1 crore jobs are expected [1].
  • Fishers' livelihoods and fragile coastal ecology still need care as new ports and berths are built.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Sagarmala: Transforming India's Maritime Landscape (PIB, 11 April 2026)static.pib.gov.in · tier 1