About Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):
- It is a statutory body established under the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act (IWAI), 1985.
- It came into existence on 27th October 1986 for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
- The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of inland water transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
- It also takes up techno-economic feasibility studies and prepares proposals for the declaration of other waterways as National Waterways.
- It also advises the Central Government on matters related to IWT and assists States in the development of the IWT sector.
- Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
- The Authority also has its regional offices at Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, and Kochi and sub-offices at Allahabad, Varanasi, Farakka, Sahibganj, Haldia, Swroopganj, Hemnagar, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Silchar, Kollam, Bhubaneshwar, and Vijayawada.
