India’s Record Cargo Movement on Inland Waterways

Syllabus:

GS3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Context:

In a significant achievement for India’s inland water Transport (IWT) sector, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) reported a record-breaking cargo movement of 145.5 million tonnes in the fiscal year 2024-25.

Exponential Growth in Cargo Traffic

Cargo traffic on National Waterways (NWs) increased from 18.10 (million metric tonnes) MMT to 145.5 MMT between FY-14 and FY-25, recording a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.86%.
In FY-25, traffic movement registered a year-on-year growth of 9.34% from FY-24.
Five commodities: Coal, Iron Ore, Iron Ore Fines, sand, and Fly Ash constituted over 68% of the total cargo moved on NWs during the year.
Passenger movement has also reached 1.61 crore in 2023–24.

Expansion of National Waterways

The IWAI, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has expanded the number of NWs from 5 to 111 under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
The operational length of NWs has increased from 2,716 km in 2014–15 to 4,894 km in 2023–24.
Major works include fairway maintenance, community jetties, floating terminals, Multi-Modal Terminals (MMTs), Inter-Modal Terminals (IMTs), and navigational locks.

Digital Initiatives for Ease of Doing Business

IWAI has launched several digital tools to streamline operations and improve efficiency:
Least Available Depth Information System (LADIS)River Information System (RIS)River Information System (RIS)
River Information System (RIS)
Portal for Navigational Information (PANI)
Management Information and Reporting Solution (MIRS)
Green initiatives such as Hybrid Electric Catamarans and Hydrogen Vessels are being introduced to reduce pollution and promote river tourism.
The Government of India aims to Increase the modal share of freight transported via IWT from 2% to 5% and traffic volume to:
200+ MMT by 2030 (Maritime India Vision 2030)
500+ MMT by 2047 (Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047)

Key Policy Measures to Boost Inland Waterways

Jalvahak – Cargo Promotion Scheme: Launched in December 2024 with a budget of Rs. 95.42 crores. It has two key components:
Financial Incentive: 35% reimbursement on actual operating costs for cargo shifted from road/rail to IWT.
Scheduled Services: Regular cargo services have been introduced to boost reliability and predictability.
Extension of Tonnage Tax to Inland Vessels: It was announced in union budget 2025, under it the tonnage tax regime has been extended to inland vessels registered under the Indian Vessels Act, 2021.
Under this system, the tax liability of a shipping company is determined based on the tonnage of its qualifying ships, rather than the actual income earned.
Regulatory Framework for Private Investment: The National Waterways (Construction of Jetties/Terminals) Regulations, 2025 have been notified to provide a legal and operational framework for private sector participation in jetty/terminal construction and management.
Digitisation and Centralised Database: A centralised portal is being developed for the registration of inland vessels and crew, similar to the ‘Vahan’ and ‘Sarathi’ systems used for road transport. This initiative will:
Simplify registration processes
Provide real-time data on vessel and crew availability
Enhance transparency and planning in the sector
Cargo Aggregation Infrastructure: To resolve issues related to sparse industrial presence along waterways, cargo aggregation hubs are under development:
Freight Village at Varanasi
Integrated Cluster-cum-Logistics Park at Sahibganj