GS Advance Program for UPSC Mains 2025, Cohort - 1 Starts from 24th October 2024 Click Here for more information
- A regular river cruise will begin from 29thMarch between Kolkata and Dhaka. This is the first time in in the history India and Bangladesh. The cruise will take the Kolkata-Sunderbans route and, via protocol route and reach Bangladesh.
- Protocol routes are defined maritime navigational routes agreed upon by two countries through bilateral treaties.
- In 2018, India and Bangladesh had had finalised Standard Operating Procedure SOP for movement of passengers and cruise vessels on inland protocol route and coastal shipping routes to enable river cruise services between Kolkata-Dhaka-Guwahati-Jorhat and back.
- In 1972, India and Bangladesh had signed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT).It is an agreement between the two governments for the transportation of goods and keeping their respective waterways navigable, while providing infrastructure facilities