Finding sustainable measures for maritime transport has long been a significant issue owing to a rising global population and the internationalization of supply chains. In Indian contexts, it has become imperative to shift from highly congested and polluting road and rail transport to a more sustainable Inland Waterway Transport (IWT). Inland waterway transportation has numerous limitations and challenges in its implementation. This study aims to study the barriers to the implementation of IWTs in India by establishing and analyzing the complex interrelationships between them. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) methods are employed to analyze the cause-effect relationship among the barriers and to further identify the key influential barriers from an identified set of factors. The results reveal that governance issues, policy bias, high cost requirements, and lack of river-interlinking are the most critical inhibitors for IWT development in India and the policymakers should focus on eliminating these ‘key’ inhibitors to ensure effective implementation of IWT in India. The findings of this study provide useful insights from a strategic and policy-making perspective.

由于全球人口的增长和供应链的国际化，寻找海上运输的可持续措施长期以来一直是一个重要问题。在印度的背景下，必须从高度拥挤且污染严重的公路和铁路运输转向更具可持续性的内陆水路运输（IWT）。内陆水路运输在实施中存在许多局限性和挑战。本研究旨在通过建立和分析内河运输之间的复杂相互关系，研究内河运输在印度实施的障碍。决策试验和评估实验室（DEMATEL）和解释性结构建模（ISM））方法用于分析障碍之间的因果关系，并从一组已确定的因素中进一步确定关键的影响性障碍。结果表明，治理问题，政策偏向，高成本要求和缺乏河流联系是印度内河运输发展的最关键因素，决策者应集中精力消除这些“关键”因素，以确保印度内河运输的有效实施。这项研究的结果从战略和政策制定的角度提供了有用的见解。