| Official Names | Names used | Ganga (Hindi), Ganges (English), Bhagirathi (upper course), Jahnavi, etc. |
| Religious Status | Hindu belief | Most sacred river in Hinduism; personified as goddess Ganga; believed to purify sins & grant moksha |
| Length in India | Main course | 2,525 km (longest river entirely within India) |
| Total Length (including Bhagirathi & Hooghly) | Full system | ~2,525 km (some sources cite 2,510–2,704 km depending on measurement) |
| Basin Area (India) | Drainage area | ~861,452–1,080,000 km² (26–34% of India's land area) |
| Countries Drained | Transboundary | India (79%), Bangladesh (21%), minor in Nepal & China |
| Primary Source | Origin | Bhagirathi River from Gangotri Glacier (Gaumukh), Uttarakhand (3,892 m elevation) |
| Alaknanda Confluence | Formation of Ganga | Devprayag (Uttarakhand) – Bhagirathi + Alaknanda officially becomes Ganga |
| Major Course Divisions | Sections | Upper Ganga (Himalayas), Middle Ganga (Gangetic Plain), Lower Ganga (delta) |
| Delta Formation | World's largest | Sundarbans Delta (shared with Brahmaputra) – ~10,000 km² in India & Bangladesh |
| Main Outfall | Into sea | Bay of Bengal (multiple distributaries: Hooghly, Padma, Meghna) |
| Average Discharge | At mouth | ~14,270–16,648 m³/s (11th largest river by discharge globally) |
| Peak Monsoon Discharge | Maximum | Up to 70,000–80,000 m³/s (July–Sept) |
| Minimum Discharge | Dry season | ~1,500–3,000 m³/s (severely reduced due to dams & abstraction) |
| Major Tributaries (Left Bank) | Key | Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara (Karnali), Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda |
| Major Tributaries (Right Bank) | Key | Yamuna, Son, Punpun, Damodar |
| States / UTs Flowed Through | Direct | Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal |
| Population Supported | Direct basin | ~400–500 million people (~40–45% of India's population) |
| Major Cities on Banks | Prominent | Haridwar, Kanpur, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata (Hooghly) |
| Pollution Status | Current (2025–2026) | Still heavily polluted; faecal coliform high in many stretches; BOD improved in some segments |
| Faecal Coliform (Varanasi stretch, recent) | Level | ~10,000–100,000 MPN/100ml (target <500 for bathing) |
| Namami Gange Programme | Launched | 2014; ₹20,000+ crore allocated; 2025–2026 focus on sewage treatment, river surface cleaning, ghats |
| Sewage Treatment Capacity Added | By 2026 | ~4,000–5,000 MLD (millions of litres per day) created/under construction |
| Ganga Aarti | Cultural | Daily evening ritual at Haridwar, Varanasi, Rishikesh – major tourist attraction |
| Kumbh Mela | Largest gathering | Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam) – 2019 saw ~240 million attendees; next 2031 |
| Irrigation & Agriculture | Contribution | Supports ~40% of India's food grain production; fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain |
| Hydropower & Dams | Major projects | Tehri Dam (largest in India), Farakka Barrage, Bansagar, Rihand |
| Ecological Importance | Biodiversity | Ganges River Dolphin (national aquatic animal), Gangetic softshell turtle, gharial |
| National River Status | Declared | 4 November 2008 (first national river of India) |
| International River | Shared | India–Bangladesh (Farakka Treaty 1996 for water sharing) |
| Annual Water Withdrawal | Estimate | ~250–300 billion cubic metres for irrigation, domestic, industrial use |
| Climate Change Impact | Current trend | Glacier retreat in Himalayas → reduced dry-season flow projected by 2050 |
