The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services IAS Exam annually. The exam is conducted in three stages and they are – the Preliminary exam, the Mains exam, and the personal interview/personality test. The Prelims exam consists of two papers – General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper-II (CSAT Paper). Candidates should have relevant knowledge in History, Current affairs, Geography, economics, and general science to tackle the General Studies Paper I. The geography syllabus for the Prelims exam consists of Indian geography and World geography.
The National Waterways in India is an important topic for candidates preparing for the upcoming IAS Exam. Aspirants can go through this article and get the list of operational waterways in India and Inland Waterways Authority of India.
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National Waterways
Transportation plays an important role in the development of a country and it is of great significance for a developing country like India. The country is bestowed with a plethora of diverse topography which enables different kinds of transportation. India has about 14500 km of navigable waterways. This includes rivers, backwaters, canals, creeks, and so on.
- National Waterways Act came into effect in 2016. It proposed 106 additional National Waterways and merges 5 existing Acts which were declared the 5 National Waterways. As a result, 106 new waterways were identified by IWAI and intimated to MoS. In this regard, the National Waterways Act, 2016 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section I dated 26th March, 2016 as an Act No. 17 of 2016
- In 1986, the Government of India created the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for regulation and development of Inland Waterways for navigation and shipping.
- Out of the 111, National Waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 13 are operational for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them.
National Waterways in India (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
About the IWAI
Inland Waterways Authority of India
This body was created by the government of India in 1986 for regulating and developing inland waterways for shipping and navigation. The body chiefly undertakes development and maintenance projects of IWT infrastructure on national waterways. It undertakes these projects through grants from the Shipping Ministry. Its headquarters is in Noida. It also has regional offices in various other cities and towns across the country.
Operational National Waterways in India for UPSC
| Sl. No. | NW Number | River System | Route | Length (in km) | Locations | Established |
| 1 | NW – 1 | Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly | Prayagraj – Haldia | 1620 | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal | 1986 |
| 2 | NW – 2 | Brahmaputra | Sadiya-Dhubri | 891 | Assam | 1988 |
| 3 | NW – 3 | West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal, and Udyogamandal Canal | Kottapuram – Kollam | 205 | Kerala | 1993 |
| 4 | NW – 4 | Krishna and Godavari | Kakinada–Puducherry stretch of canals, Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry, Waziraba–Vijayawada | 1095 | Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry | 2008 |
| 5 | NW – 10 | Amba River | 45 | Maharashtra | ||
| 6 | NW – 83 | Rajpuri Creek | 31 | Maharashtra | ||
| 7 | NW – 85 | Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System | 31 | Maharashtra | ||
| 8 | NW – 91 | Shastri river–Jaigad creek system | 52 | Maharashtra | ||
| 9 | NW – 68 | Mandovi – Usgaon Bridge to the Arabian Sea | 41 | Goa | ||
| 10 | NW – 111 | Zuari– Sanvordem Bridge to Marmugao Port | 50 | Goa | ||
| 11 | NW – 73 | Narmada River | 226 | Gujarat and Maharashtra | ||
| 12 | NW – 100 | Tapi River | 436 | Gujarat and Maharashtra | ||
| 13 | NW – 97 (Sundarbans Waterways) | Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal | Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route | 172 | West Bengal |
List of New Waterways in India
India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The State-wise list of new National Waterways are as under:-
| State | No.of rivers/canal | Name of the River / Canal |
| Andhra Pradesh | 2 | Pennar and Tungabhadra |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 1 | Lohit |
| Assam | 14 | Aai, Barak, Beki, Dhansiri / Chathe, Dehing, Dikhu, Doyans, Gangadhar, Jinjiram, Kopili, Lohit, Puthimari, Subansiri and Tlwang (Dhaleswari) |
| Bihar | 6 | Gandak, Ghaghra, Karamnasa, Kosi, Punpun and Sone |
| Delhi | 1 | Yamuna |
| Goa | 6 | Chapora, Cumberjua, Mandovi, Mapusa, Sal and Zuari |
| Gujarat | 5 | Jawai-Luni – Rann of Kutch, Mahi, Narmada, Sabarmati and Tapi |
| Haryana | 2 | Indira Gandhi Canal and Yamuna |
| Himachal Pradesh | 3 | Beas, Ravi and Sutlej |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 4 | Chenab, Indus, Jhelum and Ravi |
| Jharkhand | 2 | Kherkai and Subarnarekha |
| Karnataka | 11 | Bheema, Ghataprabha, Gurupur, Kabini, Kali, Malaprabha, Netravathi, Panchagangavali (Panchagangoli), Sharavati, Tungabhadra and Udayavara |
| Kerala | 4 | AVM Canal, Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal, Alappuzha- Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal and Kottayam-Vaikom Canal |
| Amba, Arunawati – Aran, Dabhol Creek – Vashishti River, Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway – Vasai Creek – Ulhas River, Manjara, Nag, Narmada, Penganga – Wardha, Rajpuri Creek, Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River, Savitri (Bankot Creek), Shastri River – Jaigad Creek, Tapi and Wainganga – Pranahita | ||
| Maharashtra | 14 | |
| Meghalaya | 5 | Ganol, Jinjiram, Kynshi, Simsang and Umngot (Dawki) |
| Mizoram | 1 | Tlwang (Dhaleswari) |
| Nagaland | 1 | Tizu – Zungki |
| Odisha | 5 | Baitarni, Birupa – Badi Genguti – Brahmani, Budha Balanga, Mahanadi and Subarnarekha |
| Punjab | 3 | Beas, Indira Gandhi Canal and Sutlej |
| Rajasthan | 3 | Indira Gandhi Canal, Jawai-Luni – Rann of Kutch and Luni |
| Tamil Nadu | 9 | AVM Canal, Bhavani, Kaveri – Kollidam, Manimutharu, Palar, Pazhyar, Ponniyar, Tamaraparani and Vaigai |
| Telangana | 5 | Bheema, Manjara, Penganga – Wardha, Tungabhadra and Wainganga – Pranahita |
| Uttar Pradesh | 10 | Asi, Betwa, Chambal, Gandak, Ghaghra, Gomti, Karamnasa, Tons, Varuna and Yamuna |
National Waterways in India (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
Related Links:
| Jal Marg Vikas Project | Swachh Bharat |
| Major national highways in India | National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) |
Frequently Asked Questions on National Waterways in India
Q 1. What do you mean by National Waterways?
Q 2. Which is the longest waterways in India?
Q 3. How many types of waterways are there in India?
Ans. There are mainly two types of waterways in India:
- Inland waterways – which includes rives, lakes, canals, etc.
- Sea or Shipping Routes which are mostly used for trade
