The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has achieved a record-breaking 145.5 million tonnes of cargo movement on the country’s national waterways during the fiscal year 2024-25, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
The all-time high cargo movement has come along with the total number of operational waterways increasing from 24 to 29 during the year, said the statement issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Cargo traffic on National Waterways has increased from 18.10 MMT to 145.5 MMT between FY-14 and FY-25, recording a compound annual growth (CAGR) of 20.86 per cent.
In FY-25, traffic movement registered a growth of 9.34 per cent year-on-year from FY-24. Five commodities, including coal, iron ore, iron ore fines, sand and fly ash, constituted over 68 per cent of the total cargo moved on national waterways (NWs) during the year.
In the last few years, several proactive policy measures and infrastructure initiatives have been taken to streamline cargo movement on NWs, such as the Jalvahak scheme, the statement said.
The scheme promotes a modal shift of cargo from other modes to inland water transport by incentivising cargo owners and movers to the extent of 35 per cent of the total actual operating expenditure incurred on the waterways journey. To give further push to the scheme, scheduled cargo services were made operational on NW-1, NW-2, and NW-16 via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol. This scheme is expected to divert 800 million tonne-kilometres of cargo to the IWT mode, accounting for nearly 17 per cent of the current 4,700 million tonne-kilometres of cargo on National Waterways.
The National Waterways (Construction of Jetties/Terminals) Regulations, 2025 encourage private sector investment in the development of inland terminals on National Waterways, optimising the use of India’s extensive waterways network. Private, public, and joint venture entities can develop jetties/terminals across the country by obtaining a simplified no-objection certificate (NOC) from IWAI through a digital portal.
Other Initiatives to boost cargo movement include the development of fairways to ensure the least available depth and smooth navigation. End-to-end dredging contracts have been issued for various identified stretches on national waterways.
Introduction of Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) and Ro-Pax services on various National Waterways has also helped to promote traffic.
Besides, the implementation of digital solutions like the CAR-D portal and the PANI portal for ease of doing business, Central database for registration of vessel and crew (Jalyaan and Navic) to promote digitisation, Naudarshika (National River Traffic and Navigation System) for safety and smooth operations of inland vessels has played an important role.
Adequate waterways infrastructure, including IWT terminals, night navigation facility, and navigational locks, is being developed along NWs. These initiatives are expected to boost the growth of cargo movement through National Waterways, promoting a more efficient and sustainable mode of transportation, the statement added.
