Inland waterways revival: India’s riverine logistics renaissance

 —By Maj. Gen. Shamsher Singh Ahlawat, Advisor, NICDC Logistics Data Services (NLDS)

India’s logistics story is shifting gears, focusing now on rivers, canals and backwaters. This isn’t about nostalgia or revisiting the past. It is a smart step to cut costs and choose eco-friendly options. Using data insights from NLDS, inland waterways in India are transforming from ignored routes into main shipping corridors.

The riverine revival

India has close to 14,500 km of inland waterways, including rivers, canals, creeks and backwaters. Of this, about 5,200 km of rivers and 485 km of canals are navigable for mechanised vessels. Yet for decades, only a small slice of this network carried organised cargo.

That picture is changing quickly. In FY 2024-25, inland waterways moved a record 145.5 million tonnes of cargo, compared to just 18.1 million tonnes in FY 2013-14. That’s a CAGR of 20.86%. The number of National Waterways has expanded from 5 to 111, while operational length has nearly doubled from 2,716 km to 4,894 km by 2023-24.

Policy & infrastructure

This revival is backed by both policy vision and infrastructure building.

Under the Jal Marg Vikas program, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has dredged channels, built new IWT terminals, constructed navigational locks, community jetties, and added modern navigation aids.

The JalVahak program, with a budget of Rs 95.42 crore, gives cargo owners 35% cost breaks on big waterways like NW-1, NW-2 and NW-16. It aims to boost inland water transport’s share from 2% now to over 5% by 2030, handling 200+ MMT of traffic and up to 500+ MMT by 2047, in line with the Maritime Amrit Kaal plan.

On the ground, you can already see major projects. The Varanasi Multi-modal Terminal, finished in 2018, now handles 1.2 million tonnes each year connecting river transport with rail. In Assam, cargo tests on National Waterway-57 (Kopili River) brought back movement after many years: a boat carried 300 tonnes of cement over 300 km in just 12-14 hours, adding more than 1,168 km of usable waterways in the state.

Further east, the Regional Centre of Excellence (RCoE) in Dibrugarh, with a Rs 188-crore budget, is being set up to train youth in navigation, logistics, inland waterway operations and marine engineering—supporting the North East’s maritime ambitions.

Steering through river data 

Currents, buildings and roads tell half the tale. Brains make up the rest. Here at NLDS, we don’t just see inland water paths as still channels. We view them as lively routes that need smart teamwork. This is where numbers come into play:

* Checking route success & setting standards: We keep tabs on how much cargo moves, how fast it goes, and how long it stays put on waterways. This helps big players plan smarter.

* Matching different travel types: We make sure ships show up when trains are ready to go and roads are clear. This cuts down on waits and empty trips.

* Guessing what’s needed & mapping trips: We look at old info and time of year to book boats, assign captains and save on gas.

* Sustainability insights: Quantifying fuel and emission savings, since water transport uses 3-4 times less fuel per tonne-km than road.

* Local empowerment: Giving operators at terminals like Varanasi or Kopili real-time visibility, so they can deploy barges, feeders or maintenance quickly—while also feeding data upward for national planning.

Why inland waterway revival matters

This isn’t nostalgia, it’s logistics 2.0:

*Cost‑effectiveness: IWT is among the cheapest freight modes, leveraging natural channels and low fuel yet untapped in India. 

* Eco-friendly shipping: It is far less damaging to the environment to transport goods using barges because waterways require less fuel than trucks and carry more cargo over longer distances.

* New regions: Water transport opens the North East and the Gangetic plains and coastal regions of the country to transport. Areas inaccessible by road and rail can now be used to deliver goods.

*Decongestion: Transporting more goods by water relieves pressure on the road and rail networks.

Driving the comeback 

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