â??Indian seaports are highly valuable in handling foreign trade.â?? Justify.

According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India's trading by volume and 70 per cent by value is done through maritime transport.

India has 12 major and 200 notified minor and intermediate ports. Cargo traffic, which recorded 1,052 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2015, is expected to reach 1,758 MMT by 2017. The Indian ports and shipping industry plays a vital role in sustaining growth in the country’s trade and commerce. India is the sixteenth largest maritime country in the world, with a coastline of about 7,517 km. The Indian Government plays an important role in supporting the ports sector. It has allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent under the automatic route for port and harbour construction and maintenance projects. It has also facilitated a 10-year tax holiday to enterprises that develop, maintain and operate ports, inland waterways and inland ports.

Market Size

Cargo traffic handled by India’s major ports increased 3.64 per cent year-on-year to 499.41 million tonnes (MT) during April-December 2017.The highest growth was witnessed by Cochin Port 17.27 per cent, followed by Paradip 14.59 per cent, Kolkata (including Haldia) 12.45 per cent, New Mangalore 6.6 per cent and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust 5.94 per cent. In terms of composition of cargo traffic, iron ore traffic volume rose 29.32 per cent to 18.73 MT, petroleum oil and lubricants rose 8.36 per cent to 93.14 MT, and container traffic rose 6.44 per cent.

During 2016-17, major and non-major ports in India have accomplished a total cargo throughput of 1,133.09 million tonnes, an increase of 5.7 per cent previous year 2015-16. The growth in cargo handled at major and non-major ports in 2016-17, were 6.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively. The share of major ports in the total traffic handled by Indian ports increased from 56.5 per cent in 2015-16 to 57.2 per cent in 2016-17.

The country’s major ports handled a combined traffic volume of 647.76 million tonnes during 2016-17, registering an annual growth rate of 6.80 per cent. The major ports recorded the highest ever capacity addition of 100.37 MT in 2016-17, thereby raising the total capacity to 1065 MT per annum, as against a capacity of 965.36 MT per annum in 2015-16.

The government has taken several measures to improve operational efficiency through mechanisation, deepening the draft and speedy evacuations.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, reported that the Indian ports sector received FDI worth US$ 1.64 billion between April 2000 and September 2017.