With regard to water transportation in India, which of the following statements are correct?

Introduction / Context:
Inland water transport is an important part of India s transport network, complementing road and rail. Several institutions manage and develop this sector, including the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation, the Inland Waterways Authority of India, and specialized training institutes. Exam questions often present multiple statements about their headquarters and roles, asking you to identify which are correct. This question checks detailed factual knowledge about where certain organizations related to inland waterways are headquartered and which waterway was declared the first National Waterway.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The original question includes four statements:

• 1. The headquarters of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation is located at Delhi.
• 2. The headquarters of the Inland Waterways Authority of India is located at Noida.
• 3. The National Inland Navigation Institute is located at Kolkata.
• 4. The first National Inland Waterway was the stretch between Haldia and Allahabad.

We must determine which set of statements is correct using the answer codes.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is to examine each statement against standard information. The Inland Waterways Authority of India has its headquarters at Noida, which supports statement 2. The first National Waterway in India is National Waterway 1, which covers the Ganga Bhagirathi Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia, confirming statement 4. The headquarters of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation is associated with Kolkata rather than Delhi, which makes statement 1 doubtful. The National Inland Navigation Institute is actually located at Patna on the Ganga, not at Kolkata, so statement 3 is incorrect. Therefore, statements 2 and 4 are correct, and the other two are not.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Check statement 1. The Central Inland Water Transport Corporation has historically been linked with Kolkata as its main base, not Delhi, so statement 1 is not correct. Step 2: Check statement 2. The Inland Waterways Authority of India has its headquarters at Noida in the National Capital Region, therefore statement 2 is correct. Step 3: Check statement 3. The National Inland Navigation Institute is located at Patna on the Ganga river, not at Kolkata, hence statement 3 is incorrect. Step 4: Check statement 4. National Waterway 1, the first notified national waterway, runs between Allahabad and Haldia along the Ganga Bhagirathi Hooghly system, so statement 4 is correct. Step 5: Combine the results. Only statements 2 and 4 are correct, so we must choose the option that lists 2 and 4 only.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done by recalling standard textbook facts. Many competitive exam guides explicitly mention that the Inland Waterways Authority of India is headquartered at Noida and that National Waterway 1 is the Allahabad to Haldia stretch. They also show the National Inland Navigation Institute located at Patna for training and capacity building. No authoritative source lists Delhi as the head office of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation in the way described by statement 1, and Kolkata is more strongly associated with that corporation. Thus, the pattern of correctness clearly points to statements 2 and 4 only, matching option “2 and 4 only”.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
1 and 2 only: This combination treats statement 1 as correct, but the headquarters of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation is not accurately stated as Delhi in exam references, so this option fails.

2 and 3: Including statement 3 is incorrect because the National Inland Navigation Institute is not located in Kolkata but in Patna, which makes this option wrong overall.

1, 2 and 4: This option mixes one wrong statement, number 1, with two correct ones, so it cannot be accepted as the correct answer.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students remember that several transport related bodies are located in or near Delhi and may therefore mistakenly accept statement 1 without checking specific facts. Another common error is to associate all river related institutes with Kolkata due to the historic importance of the Hooghly port, which misleads them about the location of the National Inland Navigation Institute. Additionally, not carefully distinguishing between different institutions Inland Waterways Authority, Central Inland Water Transport Corporation, and training institutes leads to confusion. Keeping a small, clearly labelled list of institutions and their headquarters helps to avoid such errors.

Final Answer:
Only statements 2 and 4 are correct, so the right answer is “2 and 4 only”.