The National Waterways Bill 2015 was passed by Lok Sabha in December 2015, while Rajya Sabha passed the bill in March 2016. The Bill is now known as the National Waterways Act, 2016.
Under Entry 24 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the Central Government can make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways which are classified as National WaterWays by Parliament by law.
The Bill identifies additional 101 waterways as National Waterways.The Schedule of the Bill also specifies the extent of development to be undertaken on each waterway.
