Despite policy push, IWT's modal share in India remains low. Analyse the constraints and evaluate demand-side incentives such as Jalvahak.

Cargo on National Waterways rose from 18 MMT (2013-14) to 218 MMT (2025-26) [1]. Yet inland water transport (IWT) still carries only about 2% of India's freight, against 48% in Vietnam and 49% in the Netherlands [2]. The gap is mainly on the supply side, so demand-side incentives can help only in part.

Constraints on modal shift

• Declared ≠ navigable: only 23 of 111 notified waterways work; 63 are shelved for lack of money and staff [2].
• Concentration: five waterways carry 80% of IWT cargo [2], so national growth hides idle routes.
• Fairway reliability: braided, silt-heavy rivers like the Brahmaputra need dredging every year [1]. Shippers won't commit without year-round depth, and the government hesitates to pay without cargo. This is a chicken-and-egg trap.
• Weak hinterland connectivity: poor road and rail links to jetties force double handling, which wipes out the cost advantage [2].
• High vessel and equipment costs, plus too few loading and unloading terminals [2].
• Ecological limits: dredging on NW-1 disturbed the Gangetic dolphin [2].

Evaluating Jalvahak

Strengths

• It reimburses up to 35% of operating costs for cargo moved more than 300 km on NW-1, NW-2 and NW-16 [3]. This directly meets the Standing Committee's call for shipper incentives [2].
• It was launched alongside fixed, scheduled cargo services from Haldia, which makes trips more predictable [3].
• Early signs are good: a record 145.5 MMT in FY25 [4], and the first international cargo from Bogibeel (540 MT methanol) left for Dhaka in October 2026 [1].

Limitations

• An operating subsidy does not dredge channels, build last-mile links or lower vessel prices.
• It is small (₹95.4 crore) and runs for a fixed three years [3]. If the subsidy is the only advantage, cargo may go back to trucks when it ends.
• Early users are PSUs such as APCL [1]. Private shippers have not yet committed.

Verdict: Jalvahak is a needed spark but cannot fix the problem alone.

Overall, IWT's low share comes from gaps in infrastructure and reliability that a demand subsidy cannot cure on its own. Jalvahak should be combined with the Standing Committee's advice [2]: plan rail, road and port links when a waterway is designed, build terminal capacity, and carry out environmental assessment before dredging. Effort should go to a few viable corridors, not paper waterways. With this, the 5%-by-2030 target [2] is within reach, and it would advance SDG 9 (infrastructure) and SDG 13 (climate action).