In a bid to enhance domestic shipbuilding sector, the Government of India could make the use of domestically manufactured barges mandatory for coastal and inland waterways movement. The Ministry of Shipping issued the revised 'Make in India' guidelines stating that all the major ports in the country must procure or charter Made in India tug boats only. These guidelines are in view of the Maritime Vision 2030 of the government.
As per The National Waterways Act, 2016, 111 waterways have been declared as National Waterways (NWs) including the five existing NWs. Out of the 111 NWs, NW-1, 2, & 3 are already operational. Cargo, as well as passenger/cruise vessels, are plying on these waterways.
The Minister of State for Shipping and Finance Shri Pon Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha informed that 20 National Waterways out of 111 are in North Eastern Region (NER).
Minister Shri Pon Radhakrishnan informed that reduced transportation cost is an important factor among others for the development of National Waterways in the country.
As per Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) Report of 2014 on “Integrated National Waterways Transportation Grid”, the comparative cost of the transportation of goods through different channels is as follows;
| Mode | Freight ( Rs/ Tonne Kilometre ) | Taxes | Total Rs / Tonne Kilometre |
| Railways | 1.36 | 3.71% | 1.41 |
| Highways | 2.50 | 3.09% | 2.58 |
| IWT | 1.06 | Nil | 1.06 |
It is worth to mention that the Government of India does not impose any tax on transportation through waterways.
List of Important National Highways of India
The List of the 111 National Waterways (NWs) is given below:
| National Waterways | Approximate Length (Km.) | State |
| National Waterway-1 | 1620 | UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal |
| National Waterway-2 | 891 | Assam |
| National Waterway-3 | 365 | Kerala |
| National Waterway-4 | 2890 | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| National Waterway-5 | 588 | Odisha, West Bengal |
| National Waterway-6 | 71 | Assam |
| National Waterway-7 | 96 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-8 | 28 | Kerala |
| National Waterway-9 | 38 | Kerala |
| National Waterway-10 | 45 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-11 | 98 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-12 | 5.5 | UP |
| National Waterway-13 | 11 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-14 | 49 | Odisha |
| National Waterway-15 | 137 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-16 | 121 | Assam |
| National Waterway-17 | 191 | HP & Punjab |
| National Waterway-18 | 73 | Assam |
| National Waterway-19 | 68 | UP |
| National Waterway-20 | 94 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-21 | 139 | Telangana Karnataka |
| National Waterway-22 | 156 | Odisha |
| National Waterway-23 | 56 | Odisha |
| National Waterway-24 | 60 | UP |
| National Waterway-25 | 33 | Goa |
| National Waterway-26 | 53 | J&K & Punjab |
| National Waterway-27 | 17 | Goa |
| National Waterway-28 | 45 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-29 | 135 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-30 | 114 | Assam |
| National Waterway-31 | 110 | Assam |
| National Waterway-32 | 63 | Assam |
| National Waterway-33 | 61 | Assam |
| National Waterway-34 | 130 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-35 | 113 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-36 | 121 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-37 | 300 | Bihar & UP |
| National Waterway-38 | 62 | Assam & West Bengal |
| National Waterway-39 | 49 | Meghalaya |
| National Waterway-40 | 340 | Bihar & UP |
| National Waterway-41 | 112 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-42 | 518 | UP |
| National Waterway-43 | 10 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-44 | 64 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-45 | 650 | Haryana, Punjab & Rajasthan |
| National Waterway-46 | 35 | J&K |
| National Waterway-47 | 131 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-48 | 590 | Rajasthan & Gujarat |
| National Waterway-49 | 110 | J&K |
| National Waterway-50 | 43 | Meghalaya & Assam |
| National Waterway-51 | 23 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-52 | 54 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-53 | 145 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-54 | 86 | UP & Bihar |
| National Waterway-55 | 364 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-56 | 23 | Jharkhand |
| National Waterway-57 | 46 | Assam |
| National Waterway-58 | 236 | Bihar |
| National Waterway-59 | 28 | Kerala |
| National Waterway-60 | 77 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-61 | 28 | Meghalaya |
| National Waterway-62 | 100 | Assam |
| National Waterway-63 | 327 | Rajasthan |
| National Waterway-64 | 425 | Odisha |
| National Waterway-65 | 81 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-66 | 248 | Gujarat |
| National Waterway-67 | 94 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-68 | 41 | Goa |
| National Waterway-69 | 5 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-70 | 242 | Maharashtra, &Telangana |
| National Waterway-71 | 27 | Goa |
| National Waterway-72 | 60 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-73 | 227 | Gujarat |
| National Waterway-74 | 78 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-75 | 141 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-76 | 23 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-77 | 20 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-78 | 265 | Maharashtra & Telangana |
| National Waterway-79 | 29 | Andhra Pradesh |
| National Waterway-80 | 125 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-81 | 35 | Bihar |
| National Waterway-82 | 72 | Assam |
| National Waterway-83 | 31 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-84 | 42 | HP & J&K |
| National Waterway-85 | 31 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-86 | 72 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-87 | 212 | Gujarat |
| National Waterway-88 | 14 | Goa |
| National Waterway-89 | 46 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-90 | 29 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-91 | 52 | Maharashtra |
| National Waterway-92 | 26 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-93 | 62 | Meghalaya |
| National Waterway-94 | 160 | Bihar |
| National Waterway-95 | 111 | Assam |
| National Waterway-96 | 314 | Jharkhand, West Bengal & Odisha |
| National Waterway-97 (Sunderbans) | 654 | West Bengal |
| National Waterway-98 | 377 | Punjab & HP |
| National Waterway-99 | 64 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-100 | 436 | Maharashtra & Gujarat |
| National Waterway-101 | 42 | Nagaland |
| National Waterway-102 | 86 | Mizoram |
| National Waterway-103 | 73 | UP |
| National Waterway-104 | 230 | Telangana, Karnataka & AP |
| National Waterway-105 | 16 | Karnataka |
| National Waterway-106 | 20 | Meghalaya |
| National Waterway-107 | 45 | Tamil Nadu |
| National Waterway-108 | 53 | UP |
| National Waterway-109 | 164 | Maharashtra & Telangana |
| National Waterway-110 | 1089 | Haryana, UP & Delhi |
| National Waterway-111 | 50 | Goa |
Source:PIB
The table given above shows the cost of transportation through the National Waterways is very cheaper as compared to other mode of transport. If these all National Waterways become operational then there would a tremendous cost cutting in the transport bill of the companies which will further reduce the price of many commodities.
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