Based on Orientation to the Sea
| Bay of Bengal Drainage | Arabian Sea Drainage |
| East-flowing rivers | West-flowing rivers |
| ~ 77 percent of the drainage area of the country is oriented towards the Bay of Bengal. | ~ 23 percent of the drainage area of the country is oriented towards the Arabian Sea. |
| Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Penneru, Pannaiyar, Vaigai, etc. | Indus, Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmati, Mahi, and the large number of swift-flowing western coast rivers descending from the Sahyadris. |
Based on the Size of the Watershed
- Major rivers – 20,000 sq. km or more –
- Himalayan river systems like Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra.
- East flowing peninsular rivers like Kaveri, Godavari, Krishna , Mahanadi
- West-flowing peninsular rivers like Tapi, Narmada, Sabarmati, Mahi.
- Medium river – 20,000 to 2,000 sq. km
- Minor rivers – 2,000 sq. km and below
Based on the Type of Drainage
- Himalayan rivers, Deccan rivers, and Coastal rivers drain into the sea.
- Rivers of the inland drainage basin (endorheic basin). Streams like the Sambhar in western Rajasthan are mainly seasonal, draining into the inland basins and salt lakes. In the Rann of Kutch, the only river that flows through the salt desert is the Luni.
Based on Origin
- The Himalayan Rivers: Perennial rivers. Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, and their tributaries.
- The Peninsular Rivers: Non-Perennial rivers. Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Cauvery, the Narmada, and the Tapi and their tributaries.