Sources, Methodology and Verification
Every figure in this presentation is drawn from a named official publication and labelled with its data year. This page lists those sources, discloses where official publications disagree with each other, and sets out the claims a reviewer can check directly.
Data Verification Panel
Each row states a claim made in this presentation, the value, the year it refers to, the source to check it against, and where in that source it can be found.
| Claim | Value | Year | Where to check | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of National Waterways declared by statute | 111 | National Waterways Act, 2016 | Read directly from the Schedule to the Act. | India Code |
| Total declared length of all National Waterways | 20,163.5 km | MoPSW list, page last updated 28-08-2019 | Read from the 'Total Length' row of the official table. | MoPSW |
| NW-1 declared length | 1,620 km | MoPSW list | Row 1 of the official table. | MoPSW |
| NW-2 declared length | 891 km | MoPSW list | Row 2 of the official table. | MoPSW |
| NW-1 cargo movement | 16.38 MT | FY 2024-25 | Waterway-wise tonnage in the MoPSW statistics volume. | MoPSW |
| NW-4 cargo movement | 10.40 MT | FY 2024-25 | Waterway-wise tonnage in the MoPSW statistics volume. | MoPSW |
| JMVP corridor length | 1,390 km, Varanasi to Haldia | Current project description | This is a sub-corridor of NW-1 and is not the length of NW-1. | IWAI |
| JMVP revised project cost | Rs 5,061.15 crore | Current project description | Stated on the IWAI project page. | IWAI |
| Sahibganj terminal designed capacity | 2.24 MTPA | Project design parameter | Designed capacity, not achieved throughput. | IWAI |
| India Code identifier for the National Waterways Act | Handle 123456789/2159 | 2016 | The previous site linked to handle 2154, which is not the National Waterways Act. | India Code |
Data Limitations
Where official publications disagree, where figures measure different things, and where no official figure exists. These are disclosed rather than reconciled, because silently averaging or selecting between conflicting official sources would misrepresent the record.
NW-4 length
The problem: MoPSW Statistics of Inland Water Transport 2024-25 reports 2,890 km for NW-4. MoPSW's List of National Waterways itemises eleven component waterways instead of publishing a single total, and those components describe a much larger system including upper Godavari and Krishna reaches.
How it is handled here: 2,890 km is shown as the reported figure for the waterway. The component breakdown is shown alongside it, and neither is presented as reconciling the other.
NW-5 length
The problem: MoPSW Statistics 2024-25 reports 233 km. The List of National Waterways gives Brahmani–Kharsua–Dhamra at 265 km and the Mahanadi delta rivers at 67 km, which sum to 332 km.
How it is handled here: 233 km is labelled as the FY 2024-25 reported figure; 265 km and 67 km are shown as the component basis. The difference is disclosed rather than averaged.
NW-3 length
The problem: The NW-3 entry contains both a 205 km main corridor and a separately listed 170 km West Coast Canal reach, so the composite entry covers more than 205 km.
How it is handled here: 205 km is shown as the main declared corridor with the additional reach disclosed.
NW-97 extent
The problem: The 172 km headline figure sits alongside thirteen component rivers with separately listed lengths, so the navigable system is larger than 172 km.
How it is handled here: Stated as a composite system with components disclosed.
Grand total versus itemised waterways
The problem: The reported grand total for FY 2024-25 is 145.84 MT and the reported National Waterways subtotal is 44.91 MT. The seven waterways itemised here sum to 37.71000000000001 MT, because MoPSW reports additional waterways beyond the seven with individually published tonnage.
How it is handled here: Only the seven waterway figures published individually are charted. The totals are shown separately and are never presented as the sum of the charted bars.
Terminal capacity versus throughput
The problem: Designed capacities such as 1.26 MTPA at Varanasi and 2.24 MTPA at Sahibganj are project design parameters. Actual terminal throughput for FY 2024-25 is not published.
How it is handled here: Every capacity figure is labelled as designed capacity, and the absence of published throughput is stated explicitly rather than estimated.
Declared length versus navigable length
The problem: 20,163.5 km is the total declared length of all 111 National Waterways. Approximately 14,500 km is IWAI's estimate of navigable potential nationwide. These measure different things and are not interchangeable.
How it is handled here: Both are shown with their definitions attached, and neither is labelled as the other.
Navigable depth
The problem: Least available depth is not published as a single national figure, and for composite waterways it differs between stretches, seasons and tidal reaches.
How it is handled here: Only the Dredging Management Plan target depths for NW-1 are shown, and they are labelled as targets. Other waterways record the depth as not disclosed.
Environmental performance
The problem: No current, India-specific, methodologically harmonised dataset of emissions per tonne-kilometre by transport mode was located from an official source.
How it is handled here: Environmental statements are directional and explicitly qualified. No numeric comparison is presented.
Map geometry
The problem: Waterway polylines and river traces on the interactive map are schematic. They indicate relative position and direction, not surveyed channel geometry.
How it is handled here: Labelled as schematic on the map itself.
Reporting periods
The problem: Waterway lengths come from a schedule whose page was last updated in 2019, while cargo figures come from the FY 2024-25 statistics volume. The two datasets are not the same vintage.
How it is handled here: Each figure carries its own year label. No attempt is made to restate lengths in FY 2024-25 terms.
Sources and References
All sources are official Government of India publications or United Nations publications. No commercial, unattributed or secondary sources are relied upon for any figure in this presentation.
Reporting basis. Cargo figures are for FY 2024-25, with a reported grand total of 145.84 MT and a reported National Waterways subtotal of 44.91 MT. Waterway lengths are taken from the statutory schedule, whose page was last updated in 2019. The two datasets are not the same vintage, and no figure has been restated to force them to agree.
Inland Waterways Authority of India
Supports: Statutory mandate of IWAI; existence of the Authority from 27 October 1986; navigable inland waterway potential of approximately 14,500 km; National Waterway development programmes.
Supports: Declared length and terminal lists for NW-1 to NW-5; declaration dates of the original five National Waterways.
Supports: NW-1 declared as the Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly river system between Haldia (Sagar) and Prayagraj, 1,620 km, declared in 1986; JMVP fairway depth and width targets; 10 fairway stretches; community jetties.
Supports: JMVP scope of 1,390 km (Varanasi to Haldia) on NW-1; World Bank technical and financial support; revised project cost of Rs 5,061.15 crore; design target of 1,500–2,000 DWT vessels; multi-modal and inter-modal terminals.
Supports: NW-16 covers the Barak River from Lakhipur to Bhanga, 121 km, in Assam; permanent terminals at Badarpur and Karimganj; Indo-Bangladesh Protocol connectivity.
Supports: Existence of official digital platforms for cargo data, vessel tracking, River Information Services and least-available-depth information on National Waterways.
Supports: Record cargo movement of 145.5 million tonnes on inland waterways in FY 2024-25, up from 18.1 million tonnes in FY 2013-14 (CAGR 20.86%); growth of operational National Waterways from 24 to 29; operational length of 4,894 km in 2023-24.
Supports: Operation and maintenance of JMVP terminals through public-private partnership; commencement of cargo operations at the Haldia multi-modal terminal; first north-bound consignment to Pandu, Guwahati.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Supports: Statutory mandate of IWAI; existence of the Authority from 27 October 1986; navigable inland waterway potential of approximately 14,500 km; National Waterway development programmes.
Supports: Policy framework and institutional structure for inland water transport; ownership and oversight of IWAI; national inland waterway statistics programme.
Supports: Declared length and component waterways for each of the 111 National Waterways; total declared network length of 20,163.5 km; composition of the composite NW-4 and NW-5 systems; NW-16 (Barak River) and NW-97 (Sunderbans Waterway).
Supports: Cargo movement on National Waterways for FY 2024-25, including waterway-wise tonnage, the reported grand total and the National Waterways subtotal used throughout this atlas.
Supports: Availability of successive annual editions of the inland water transport statistics, and the reporting-year basis of the figures cited here.
Supports: Programme-level context for inland water transport, terminal development and institutional capacity during FY 2024-25.
Supports: Cargo transportation on National Waterways of 145.84 million metric tonnes in FY 2024-25; passenger traffic growth from 1.61 crore (2023-24) to 7.6 crore (2024-25); combined cargo handling capacity of major ports of 1,681 MTPA in FY 2024-25.
Supports: Port-led development, port connectivity and coastal infrastructure programmes that complement inland waterway development.
Supports: Ownership and operation of the Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex; riverine major port interface with NW-1; port cargo statistics.
Press Information Bureau, Government of India
Supports: Record cargo movement of 145.5 million tonnes on inland waterways in FY 2024-25, up from 18.1 million tonnes in FY 2013-14 (CAGR 20.86%); growth of operational National Waterways from 24 to 29; operational length of 4,894 km in 2023-24.
Supports: Cargo transportation on National Waterways of 145.84 million metric tonnes in FY 2024-25; passenger traffic growth from 1.61 crore (2023-24) to 7.6 crore (2024-25); combined cargo handling capacity of major ports of 1,681 MTPA in FY 2024-25.
Supports: Operation and maintenance of JMVP terminals through public-private partnership; commencement of cargo operations at the Haldia multi-modal terminal; first north-bound consignment to Pandu, Guwahati.
Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice
Supports: Statutory declaration of 111 National Waterways in the Schedule; definitions; powers of the Central Government and of IWAI over national waterways.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata
Supports: Ownership and operation of the Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex; riverine major port interface with NW-1; port cargo statistics.
Sagarmala Secretariat
Supports: Port-led development, port connectivity and coastal infrastructure programmes that complement inland waterway development.
National Mission for Clean Ganga
Supports: Arth Ganga programme linking Ganga waterway development with cluster-based economic activity and riverine livelihoods.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Supports: International maritime trade context for the global connectivity section.
Supports: Share of world trade carried by sea; projected growth of seaborne trade and containerised trade; port performance and maritime trade facilitation.
International Maritime Organization
Supports: International regulatory framework for shipping, including the SOLAS Convention provisions that mandate ship identification and tracking systems.
Supports: IMO work on greenhouse gas emissions from ships, the IMO Net-Zero Framework and maritime decarbonisation policy context.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Supports: International technical standards for inland navigation, including Inland AIS, vessel tracking and tracing (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/176) referenced in the technology overview.
Statement on figures. Where an official source does not publish a value, this presentation records that it is not disclosed rather than supplying an estimate. Designed capacities, project targets and target depths are always labelled as such and are never presented as achieved results. Figures that this team calculated, such as the sum of itemised waterways, are marked as derived.