Chapter 09 · The Portfolio
Inland Waterways
Rivers as transport corridors: the National Waterways declared by Parliament, the cargo they carry, and the terminals, vessels and cross-border routes of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
Cargo on National Waterways
- FY 2013–1418.10MMTPIB, 15 April 2025
- FY 2024–25145.5MMTPIB, 15 April 2025 · later restated as 145.84 MMT
- FY 2025–26218MMTMinistry website, IWT division
Cargo moved on National Waterways, in million metric tonnes. PIB reported a compound annual growth rate of 20.86% between FY 2013–14 and FY 2024–25. The FY 2025–26 figure is published on the ministry's inland water transport page and exceeds the Maritime India Vision 2030 target of 200 MMT; the latest PIB figure found for that year was 198 MMT up to February 2026.
PIB, 15 April 2025 · PIB, 27 April 2026 · MoPSW, IWT divisionReach 01
A network declared by law
The National Waterways Act, 2016, which received assent on 25 March 2016, retained the five existing National Waterways and declared 106 new ones — 111 in all, covering about 20,187 km across 23 States and four Union Territories. Thirty-two National Waterways, totalling 5,155 km, were operational as of March 2026.
The Inland Vessels Act, 2021, which received assent on 11 August 2021, replaced legislation dating from 1917 and created a single national framework for the registration and safety of inland vessels.
- National Waterways
- 111
- Operational (Mar 2026)
- 32
- Length declared
- ~20,187 km
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The Ganga: Jal Marg Vikas
National Waterway 1 follows the Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly system. The Jal Marg Vikas Project, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 3 January 2018 with World Bank support, covers the roughly 1,390 km Varanasi–Haldia stretch at a cost of about ₹5,061 crore. Multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj and Haldia and a new navigation lock at Farakka have been completed. Cargo on NW-1 rose from 5.05 MMT in 2014–15 to 16.38 MMT in 2024–25.
On 13 January 2023 the Prime Minister flagged off the river cruise vessel MV Ganga Vilas from Varanasi on a journey of about 3,200 km through 27 river systems, via Bangladesh, which ended at Dibrugarh. On 11 December 2025, at Namo Ghat in Varanasi, Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off commercial service of India's first indigenous hydrogen fuel-cell passenger vessel, built by Cochin Shipyard for the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
Reach 03 · NW-2
The Brahmaputra
National Waterway 2 runs along the Brahmaputra in Assam. A comprehensive development programme of ₹498 crore for 2020–21 to 2024–25 covered terminals at Bogibeel and Jogighopa and tourist jetties at Bogibeel and Pandu. Documented events on the river at which he officiated include:
- Received at Guwahati the first run from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh, by MV Lal Bahadur Shastri, carrying 200 tonnes of foodgrain over 2,350 km.
- Dedicated the Inland Waterways Terminal at Jogighopa, about 91 km from Gelephu on the Bhutan border.
- Opened customs and immigration complexes at Bogibeel and Dhubri and the renovated IWAI heritage building at Dibrugarh.
- Laid foundation stones for India's first four river lighthouses — at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat — at an estimated ₹84 crore.
The Brahmaputra is not just a river; it is our lifeline, our history and our future,
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Across the border
The Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between India and Bangladesh, first signed in 1972, allows vessels of each country to use designated routes through the other. The Inland Waterways Authority of India and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority are its competent authorities. Cargo on protocol routes rose from 2.00 million tonnes in 2014–15 to 5.43 million tonnes in 2021–22.
At the Water Voyage Northeast conference in Guwahati on 2 September 2025 he announced two cruise vessels for the Brahmaputra, at a cost of ₹250 crore, due in 2027.
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Water metro and urban transport
In May 2026 the ministry circulated a draft National Water Metro Policy — for urban passenger transport on rivers and backwaters — for inter-ministerial consultation, ahead of a planned roll-out in 18 cities.
The proposed Water Metro systems are significantly less capital intensive as they utilise existing waterways with minimal civil infrastructure.
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Environmental considerations
Inland waterways depend on maintaining navigable depth in living river systems. The Jal Marg Vikas Project, for instance, aims to keep a depth of 2.2 to 3.0 metres on NW-1 for about 330 days a year, which involves dredging and river-training works. Such works are subject to environmental appraisal, and their effects on river ecology, sediment and fisheries are matters of continuing public and scientific discussion. On the vessel side, a hydrogen fuel-cell passenger vessel entered commercial service on NW-1 in December 2025.