There are 111 officially notified Inland National Waterways (NWs) in India identified for the purposes of inland water transport, as per The National Waterways Act, 2016. Out of the 111 NWs, 106 were created in 2016. The NW network covers around 20,275.5 km. NW-1, 2, & 3 are already operational. Cargo as well as passenger / cruise vessels are plying on these waterways. Detailed Project Report(DPR) for development of NW-4 & 5 was completed in 2010. The DPR of NW 5 was updated in 2014. For the newly declared 106 NWs, techno-economic feasibility studies have been initiated.
National waterways in India handled 55 MT in 2017-18 and 72 MT in 2018-19 cargo respectively, and expected to reach 100 MT by fy 2021-22.
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List
| Name | River | States | Length of NW (km) | Operational (Y/N/P(artial)) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NW1 | Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly Rivers | UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal | 1620 | Y |
| NW2 | Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra River | Assam | 891 | Y |
| NW3 | Kollam-Kozhikode stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara canal and Udyogmandal canal | Kerala | 365 | Y |
| NW4 | Kakinada to Puducherry (Buckingham canal) Andhra Pradesh | N | ||
| NW5 | (a) Talcher-Dhamra stretch of Brahmani River-Kharsua River-Tantighai River-Pandua Nala-Dudhei Nala-Kani Dhamra River. (b) Geonkhali-Charbatia stretch of coovum Canal. (c) Harbatia-Dhamra stretch of Matai River and Mahanadi Delta Rivers |
Odisha, West Bengal | 623 | Y |
| NW6 | Aai River BARAK RIVER | Assam | 121 | |
| NW7 | Ajay River | West Bengal | 96 | Y |
| NW8 | Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal | Kerala | 28 | Y |
| NW9 | Alappuzha-Kottayam-Athirampuzha Canal | Kerala | 38 | P |
| NW10 | Amba River | Maharashtra | 45 | Y |
| NW11 | Arunavati River-Aran River | northern maharastra | 98 | Y |
| NW12 | Asi River | UP | 5.5 | Y |
| NW13 | AVM Canal | Kerala, Tamil Nadu | 11 | Y |
| NW14 | Baitarani River | Odisha | 49 | Y |
| NW15 | Bakreshwar River-Mayurakshi River | West Bengal | 137 | Y |
| NW16 | Barak River | Assam | 121 | Y |
| NW17 | Beas River | HP & Punjab | 191 | Y |
| NW18 | Beki River | Assam | 73 | Y |
| NW19 | Betwa River | UP | 68 | Y |
| NW20 | Bhavani River | Tamil Nadu | 94 | Y |
| NW21 | Bhima River | Telangana & Karnataka | 139 | N |
| NW22 | Birupa River-Badi River-Genguti River-Brahmani River | Odisha | 156 | N |
| NW23 | Budhabalanga River | Odisha | 56 | N |
| NW24 | Chambal River | UP | 60 | Y |
| NW25 | Chapora River | Goa | 33 | N |
| NW26 | Chenab River | J&K & Punjab | 53 | Y |
| NW27 | Cumbarjua Canal | Goa | 17 | N |
| NW28 | Dabhol creek-Vashishti River | Maharashtra | 45 | Y |
| NW29 | Damodar River | West Bengal | 135 | N |
| NW30 | Dihing River | Assam | 114 | Y |
| NW31 | Dhansiri River-Chathe River | Assam | 110 | N |
| NW32 | Dikhu River | Assam | 63 | N |
| NW33 | Doyans River | Assam | 61 | N |
| NW34 | DVC canal | West Bengal | 130 | N |
| NW35 | Dwarakeswar River | West Bengal | 113 | N |
| NW36 | Dwarka River | West Bengal | 121 | N |
| NW37 | Gandak River | Bihar & UP | 300 | N |
| NW38 | Gangadhar River | Assam & West Bengal | 62 | N |
| NW39 | Ganol River | Meghalaya | 49 | N |
| NW40 | Ghaghara River | Bihar & UP | 340 | N |
| NW41 | Ghataprabha River | Karnataka | 112 | N |
| NW42 | Gomti River | UP | 518 | N |
| NW43 | Gurupura River | Karnataka | 10 | N |
| NW44 | Ichamati River | West Bengal | 64 | N |
| NW45 | Indira Gandhi Canal | Haryana, Punjab & Rajasthan | 650 | N |
| NW46 | Indus River | Ladakh | 35 | N |
| NW47 | Jalangi River | West Bengal | 131 | N |
| NW48 | Jawai River-Luni River and Rann of Kutch | Rajasthan & Gujarat | 590 | N |
| NW49 | Jhelum River | J&K | 110 | N |
| NW50 | Jinjiram River | Meghalaya & Assam | 43 | N |
| NW51 | Kabini River | Karnataka | 23 | N |
| NW52 | Kali River | Karnataka | 54 | N |
| NW53 | Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway, Vasai Creek and Ulhas River | Maharashtra | 145 | N |
| NW54 | Karmanasa River | UP & Bihar | 86 | N |
| NW55 | Kaveri River-Kollidam River | Tamil Nadu | 364 | N |
| NW56 | Kharkai River | Jharkhand | 23 | N |
| NW57 | Kopili River | Assam | 46 | N |
| NW58 | Kosi River | Bihar | 236 | N |
| NW59 | Kottayam-Vaikom Canal | Kerala | 28 | N |
| NW60 | Kumari River | West Bengal | 77 | N |
| NW61 | Kumari River | Meghalaya | 28 | N |
| NW62 | Lohit River | Assam | 100 | N |
| NW63 | Luni River | Rajasthan | 327 | N |
| NW64 | Mahanadi River | Odisha | 425 | N |
| NW65 | Mahananda River | West Bengal | 81 | N |
| NW66 | Mahi River | Gujarat | 248 | N |
| NW67 | Malaprabha River | Karnataka | 94 | N |
| NW68 | Mandovi River | Goa | 41 | Y |
| NW69 | Manimuthar River | Tamil Nadu | 5 | N |
| NW70 | Manjara River | Maharashtra & Telangana | 242 | N |
| NW71 | Mapusa River-Moide River | Goa | 27 | N |
| NW72 | Nag River | Maharashtra | 60 | N |
| NW73 | Narmada River | Gujarat | 227 | Y |
| NW74 | Netravati River | Karnataka | 78 | N |
| NW75 | Palar River | Tamil Nadu | 141 | N |
| NW76 | Panchagangavalli River (Panchagangoli) | Karnataka | 23 | N |
| NW77 | Pazhyar River | Tamil Nadu | 20 | N |
| NW78 | Painganga River-Wardha River | Maharashtra & Telangana | 265 | N |
| NW79 | Penna River | Andhra Pradesh | 29 | N |
| NW80 | Ponnaiyar River | Tamil Nadu | 125 | N |
| NW81 | Punpun River | Bihar | 35 | N |
| NW82 | Puthimari River | Assam | 72 | N |
| NW83 | Rajpuri creek | Maharashtra | 31 | Y |
| NW84 | Ravi River | HP & J&K | 42 | N |
| NW85 | Revdanda creek & Kundalika River | Maharashtra | 31 | Y |
| NW86 | Rupnarayan River | West Bengal | 72 | N |
| NW87 | Sabarmati River | Gujarat | 212 | N |
| NW88 | Sal River | Goa | 14 | N |
| NW89 | Savitri River & Bankot creek | Maharashtra | 46 | N |
| NW90 | Sharavati river | Karnataka | 29 | N |
| NW91 | Shastri River-Jaigad Fort creek | Maharashtra | 52 | Y |
| NW92 | Shilabati River | West Bengal | 26 | N |
| NW93 | Simsang River | Meghalaya | 62 | N |
| NW94 | Son River | Bihar | 160 | N |
| NW95 | Subansiri River | Assam | 111 | N |
| NW96 | Subarnarekha River | Jharkhand, West Bengal & Odisha | 314 | N |
| NW97 | Sunderbans waterways | West Bengal | 654 | Y |
| NW98 | Sutlej River | Punjab & HP | 377 | N |
| NW99 | Thamirabarani River | Tamil Nadu | 64 | N |
| NW100 | Tapi River | Maharashtra & Gujarat | 436 | Y |
| NW101 | Tizu River and Zungki River | Nagaland | 42 | N |
| NW102 | Tlwang River | Mizoram | 86 | N |
| NW103 | Tons River | UP | 73 | N |
| NW104 | Tungabhadra River | Telangana, Karnataka & AP | 230 | N |
| NW105 | Udayavara River | Karnataka | 16 | N |
| NW106 | Umngot River | Meghalaya | 20 | N |
| NW107 | Vaigai River | Tamil Nadu | 45 | N |
| NW108 | Varuna River | UP | 53 | N |
| NW109 | Wainganga River-Pranahita River | Maharashtra & Telangana | 164 | N |
| NW110 | Yamuna River | Haryana, UP & Delhi | 1089 | P |
| NW111 | Zuari River | Goa | 50 | Y |
Notes
NW110
Wazirabad barrage (north Delhi)-Palla (north Faridabad) perennial section is being developed for the passenger and cargo ferry service. Okhla barrage-Agra steamer service is planned by the end of June 2017 with the help of Netherlands (c. Feb 2017).