INLAND WATERWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on 27th October 1986 for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• The Authority primarily undertakes projects for the development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from the Ministry of Shipping.
• The head office of the Authority is at Noida.
• India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.
• Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari – Krishna rivers.
• Besides these organized operations by mechanized vessels, country boats of various capacities also operate in various rivers and canals and substantial quantum of cargo and passengers are transported in this unorganized sector as well.