New Delhi, May 7 -- :The Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global logistics major Rhenus Group on Tuesday to start scheduled barge operations across India's key National Waterways (NWs) in a big boost to environment-friendly river transport in the country.

As part of the MoU signed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Rhenus will introduce 100 barges in a phased manner in the national waterways, while 20 barges and six pushers to be deployed in the first phase, targeting the movement of more than one million tonnes of cargo annually by the end of 2025.

At the onset, Rhenus will operate on National Waterways 1 (Ganga), 2 (Brahmaputra), and 16 (Barak), as well as the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route.

These opera...