From Chairman's Desk

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), established in 1986, is the nodal agency under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, mandated to develop and regulate National Waterways (NWs) in India. It has taken a quantum leap from just five national waterways to 111 NWs in the last ten years.

Several regulatory changes have been made by the Authority to support ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the IWT sector. With renewed focus on waterways as an economic and environment-friendly mode of transportation, this field is witnessing key technological developments globally. IWAI also, keeping pace with time and technological advancements, has undertaken various key initiatives viz. user friendly applications like LADIS, FOCAL, RIS, Car-D, PANI & MIRS, introduction of Hybrid Electric Catamaran/Hydrogen Vessels in Indian rivers to reduce pollution, facilitate river cruises, etc.

The government’s focus is on development of Inland Waterways as part of an integrated transport network to realize the untapped potential of waterways. Traffic on Inland waterways has witnessed exponential growth with CAGR of 22.10% in the last ten years. 133 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo movement took place in the year 2023-24 as compared to 18.07 MMT  in the year 2013-14.IWAI aims to increase the modal share of freight movement through IWT from 2% to 5% and traffic volume to more than 200 MMT in line with the Maritime India Vision 2030 and more than 500 MMT by 2047 as per the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

All the officers and staff of IWAI strive hard to meet these goals and develop the Authority into a modern and progressive organization. I wish them great success!