India expands inland water transport with incentives, new terminals, and private sector participation for seamless cargo movement.

India is strengthening its inland waterways to improve cargo transportation efficiency. The government has introduced a 35% incentive to encourage cargo owners to use National Waterways (NWs), focusing on NW-1, NW-2, and NW-16 under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol.

To attract private sector participation, the National Waterways (Construction of Jetties/Terminals) Regulations 2025 has been notified, ensuring a structured investment framework. Additionally, over 140 Public Sector Units (PSUs) have been urged to integrate Inland Water Transport (IWT) into their logistics strategies.

Infrastructure expansion is underway, with 49 community jetties, 20 floating terminals, 3 multi-modal terminals (MMTs), and 1 inter-modal terminal (IMT) on NW-1. NW-3 has seen the addition of 9 inland water transport terminals and 2 Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax terminals.

The government is also conducting river training, dredging, and hydrographic surveys to maintain fairways, aiming to make IWT a cost-effective and sustainable cargo transport mode.

Source: PIB