INLAND WATER TRANSPORT IN PUNJAB

• Sutlej River declared National Waterway-98 (NW-98) under the National Waterways Act, 2016; stretches from Bridge at Sunni (Mandi, Himachal Pradesh) to Harike Barrage (Punjab), passing through Rupnagar district.
• Marks Punjab's entry into India's Inland Water Transport (IWT) network, historically dominated by Ganga (NW-1) and Brahmaputra (NW-2).
• Operationalisation aligned with Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030, an umbrella roadmap of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.