Water was one of the central themes in the Budget, underpinning the Narendra Modi-led Government’s ambition to capitalise on this valuable natural resource. The rollout of the Jal Marg Vikas (National Waterways-I) project on the Ganga River, in particular, looks like the first step toward unlocking the potential of India’s much-neglected inland water bodies.

The project aims to facilitate commercial navigation of vessels with a capacity of 1,500 tonnes along a 1,620-km stretch of the Ganga River between Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh, and Haldia, a port city in West Bengal.

Cheaper mode From a goods transportation perspective, there are clear-cut advantages to making this journey by boat than truck. According to consultancy firm KPMG, transporting goods using a water-borne mode would be cheaper than road transport, at about 21 per cent of the cost, and the Railways (42 per cent).

KPMG says even in terms of energy efficiency, transport of goods by water trumps other modes. One litre of fuel is required for 105 tonnes of goods for a distance of 1 km by water. But a similar amount of fuel can only move 85 tonnes by rail and 24 tonnes by road.

The overarching strategy is to promote a shift in the mode of goods transportation in India. At present, 1.3 trillion tonnes of goods are moved by road every year, approximately 65 per cent of total freight movement.

Given that fuel accounts for nearly 35-40 per cent of the total outgo, logistics costs in India are estimated at 13-14 per cent of gross domestic product, compared to 7-8 per cent in developed nations. That’s because India transports only 7 per cent of its domestic cargo by coastal shipping and less than 1 per cent using inland waterways. In contrast, the European Union transports 42 per cent, China 43 per cent and the US 15 per cent.

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