Cabinet nod for IWAI bond issue

• The Union Cabinet gave its nod to Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for raising Rs. 660 crore in bonds for extra budgetary resources in 2017-18.
• The proceeds from the bonds will be utilised by IWAI for development and maintenance of National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterways Act, 2016.
• Funds received through issue of bonds will be used exclusively for capital expenditure to improve infrastructure funding.
• The IWAI mayget Rs. 857 crore in loan from World Bank for its Jal Marg Vikas Project.

About IWAI:

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on 27th October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from Ministry of Shipping.
• The head office of the Authority is at Noida.
• The Authority also has its regional offices at Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi and sub-offices at Allahabad, Varanasi, Bhaglapur, Farakka, Hemnagar, Dibrugarh (Assam), Kollam, Bhubaneswar (Odisa) and Vijaywada (A.P.)

Analysis:

• India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.
• About 55 million tons of cargo is being moved annually by Inland Water Transport (IWT), a fuel - efficient and environment -friendly mode. Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak River, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari - Krishna rivers.
• Besides these organized operations by mechanized vessels, country boats of various capacities also operate in various rivers and canals. And substantial quantum of cargo and passengers are transported in this unorganized sector as well

By: Vishal