Is water transportation the panacea to India's logistic problems as touted?

While the govt has been passionately projecting it as a cheaper and time-efficient alternative, experts aren't all that convinced

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the food and beverage giant Pepsico’s container cargo at Varanasi on November 12, the event marked the beginning of a new chapter in the area of logistics.

Pepsico moved 16 containers -– equivalent to 16 truckloads -- filled with food and snacks in the vessel MV RN Tagore that sailed from Kolkata to Varanasi on National Waterway 1.

On its return journey, MV RN Tagore ferried fertilisers procured from Iffco's Phulpur plant near Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad).

When Union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari took charge of his office on May 29, 2014, development of inland