- Why in news
- On 18 May 2026, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the Water Metro rollout. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways circulated the Draft National Water Metro Policy, 2026 for inter-ministerial consultation, with 18 cities planned.
- What it is
- The Water Metro is a planned urban public transport service that uses navigable rivers, backwaters and canals, run on electric or hybrid ferries. It is modelled on the Kochi Water Metro. The draft policy seeks a national framework for standard vessels, terminals, charging and safety, and for choosing and funding projects.
- Model project
- The rollout builds on the Kochi Water Metro experience.
- Phasing
- Guwahati, Srinagar, Patna, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj are in Phase I. Tezpur and Dibrugarh are proposed for Phase II.
- Selection criteria
- Priority goes to areas with continuous or semi-continuous waterways and cities above one million people with transport demand. The criteria can be relaxed for congestion relief, remote connectivity or flood resilience.
- Funding models
- Options include joint Centre-State funding, fully State-funded, PPP and fully Centre-funded projects.
Don’t confuse with Water Metro vs Jal Marg Vikas Project: Water Metro is urban passenger ferry transport. The Jal Marg Vikas Project develops National Waterway-1 (Ganga) mainly for cargo.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Uses existing waterways, so it needs less land and civil work than road or rail transit.
- Electric and hybrid ferries can cut urban congestion and emissions.
Problems
- Many rivers have seasonal flow and siltation, which limits navigability.
- Viability and fare recovery are uncertain, and terminals need multimodal links.
Way forward
- Finalise the policy after consulting States, with standard vessel, terminal and safety norms.
- Choose funding models city by city, backed by the feasibility studies.
Put in your answer
Kochi Water Metro: Existing example of an electric-hybrid urban ferry system that the national plan builds on.
- 2014Mains GS3 · Q8Critically discuss success of strategies under National Urban Transport Policy's people-moving focus.
- 2016Mains GS1 · Q19Problems and prospects of inland water transport in India.
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q16How efficient, affordable urban mass transport drives India's economic development.
- 2026Prelims Q35Statements on Sagarmala Programme's port-led growth and inland waterway shipping.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Draft policy at consultation stage for 18 cities; Kochi Water Metro is the model. Few settled facts yet for a question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.