In Full flow How India can become a global maritime power by 2030
Present circumstances:
- India has ranked 38th in the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) Report 2023 published by the World Bank. Both India’s ports and its logistics sector have benefited from the good news that it has brought.
- Since 2014, India has advanced in the global rankings for “International Shipments” from position 44 to position 22.
The reasons for the rise in the ranking of international shipments are as follows:
- The reason for the considerably higher performance is the marked reduction in dwell time (the amount of time vessels spend in port actively loading or unloading cargo) at Indian ports.
- Compared to four days in areas like the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, seven days in the US, and ten days in Germany, only about three days have been obtained as the ideal level.
- In a different criteria used to judge port operational effectiveness, India did well.
- Turnaround time (TRT) improvement: The country has one of the best TRTs in the world at just 0.9 days. In the US, it takes 1.5 days, while it takes 1.4 days in Belgium, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland, Indonesia, and New Zealand.
- recent investments made to modernise the ports’ and shipping industry’s infrastructure:
- Port efficiency and productivity have been continuously prioritised through reforms, the adoption of new technology, a larger emphasis on public-private partnerships, and a general commitment to ease of doing business.
- From 871 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2015 to 1,617 MMT in 2023, 12 significant ports in the country have increased their capacity.
- Over 300 MMT more capacity has been added over this time, and increased operating economies have been made possible in large part by PPP projects. They oversee over 54% of the total cargo in the busiest ports.
- The amount of cargo that may now be moved through Indian ports is over 2,600 MMT, up from over 1,560 MMT in 2015. Additionally, there has been a roughly 150% increase in the value of PPP project operationalization in the major ports.
Pay attention to the maritime industry’s decarbonization:
- Significant ports have raised their use of renewable energy by 14 times during the last eight years. Currently, four of the biggest ports create more renewable energy than they overall use.
- Therefore, the government’s Panchamrit promises and the emphasis on decarbonization in the maritime industry have had a favourable influence on the port sector:
- The government’s release of the Harit Sagar Green Port guidelines is another noteworthy development in this sector. It works to change the paradigm towards safe, efficient, and sustainable ports by promoting the adoption of solid environmental practises among all stakeholders.
- The following are some of the government’s initiatives to promote the maritime sector:
- The Centre has also put into effect a number of key legislative and policy reforms to aid the port business. This includes
- The Major Port Authorities Act of 2021 increases the jurisdiction of major ports.
- The Marine Aids to Navigation Act of 2021 requires worldwide standards-compliant training and certification, as well as increased safety and effectiveness in vessel traffic services.
- All of the country’s interior waterways now have uniform legal standards thanks to the Indian Vessels Act of 2021.
- The government is replacing the Indian Ports Act, 1908 with a law that better meets the needs of the present.
Conclusion:
- The government has put a lot of effort into making ports into commercial hubs recently.
- The worldwide recognition of the operational effectiveness of Indian ports and the Indian maritime industry is a crucial step in India’s aspirations to realise the Maritime India Vision, 2030 aim of becoming a world maritime power.
