The present work is carried out to study the performance of a Savonius rotor for small-scale hydropower generation. It has been observed that some of the irrigation channels available in the rural areas are having enough bed slope to generate kinetic energy, which can be harnessed through a Savonius rotor. An in-house fabricated scale-down model of the Savonius rotor is tested at an inclination of the re-circulating indoor multipurpose tilting flume at 0 degrees, 0.5 degrees, 1.0 degrees, 1.5 degrees and 2.0 degrees to determine performance under controlled conditions. It is observed that at the tip speed ratio of 0.92 and channel inclination of 0.5 degrees compared to 0 degrees inclination, the coefficient of power and coefficient of torque improved to 40% and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, it is found that the torque and power developed by the turbine are maximum at a bed slope of 2.0 degrees owing to the maximum available energy. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.