Government plans to develop eastern grid with 5,000 kms of navigable waterways

The MoPSW has announced that the government is planning to develop the eastern grid with 5,000 km of navigable waterways. The development of this grid will not only boost regional integration and accelerate development but will further deepen trade between eastern India and Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. It will also amplify the trade potential with countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. With seamless conn­ection between National Waterways (NW)-1 (Ganga), NW-2 (Brahma­putra) and NW-16 (Barak), the government is keen to create opportunities via an economic corridor of 3,500 km connecting Northeast India with the rest of the country via Bangladesh. This will also link Bhutan and Nepal with Bangladesh on international trade routes through a multimodal connection developed in India.