Grand & Glorious Event to Remember India Maritime Awards 7th Edition

Keynote Address by Chief Guest Shri Rajiv Jalota, IAS, Chairperson – Mumbai Port Authority

First of all, I would li ke t o th an k th e Daily Shipping Times fo r fe li ci ta ti ng Mumbai Port Authority on its Glorious Journey of150years.

A majority of the audience would have started their or their company's career from Mumbai Port. It is trying to deliver whatever best it can even in these trying times of extreme modernization of shipping and logistics. We know that Indian maritime sector is on a strong trajectory and is ready to assist the Indian economy in achieving lofty goals.

The port and shipping sector is really poised for a big growth. We have started thinking of Mega and Ultra Ports and Govt. has asked us to develop our plans for Amrit Kaal of 2047 which will be soon unveiled by MoPSW. This goes to show that what we are aiming and planning for may also fall short with the magnanimous growth that our country is witnessing.

I would like to showcase few achievements of Indian Shipping sector which wouldn't have been possiblewithoutyourefforts.

In fact the Average Dwell time as per World Bank's Logistics Performance report 2023, India has achieved a level of 3 days as compared to 4 days for countries like UAE and South Africa, 7 days for USA and 10 days for Germany. As far as Turnaround time is concerned, India achieved the mark of 0.9 days which is better than USA having 1.5 days, Australia with 1.7 days, Belgium with 1.3 days, Canada with 2 days, Germany with 1.3 days, UAE with 1.1 days, Singapore with 1 day, Russia with 1.8 days, Malaysia with1day,Irelandwith1.2days,Indonesiawith1.1day andSouthAfrica2.8days.JNPTwascomparedonthis parameter vis-à-vis the best ports of respective countries.

India also moved up to 22nd rank in its Global RankinginitsInternationalShipmentcategory

The Major Ports collectively handled a record breaking 795 million tonnes of cargo in FY 2023 with a 10% growth. This has been achieved with the highest ever output per day of 17,239 tonnes making a 6% increaseascomparedtopreviousyear.

Another significant accomplishment of Major Ports has been the best ever operating ratio of48.54%.

TheFleetofShipshaveexpandedfrom1205in2014 to 1526 in 2023 showcasing India's commitment tostrengthenitsmaritimepresence.

The number of Indian Seafarers has also grown from 1,17,000 in 2014 to a remarkable 2,50,000 in 2022 registeringagrowthof114%injust9years.

The key factor for these achievements have been the thrust given by Government of India and the push from MoPSW. The Sagarmala programme launched in 2015 was the first step in this direction. Numerous steps have been taken since then such as the Ministry's Maritime India Vision 2030 in the year 2021 which showcased the action plan for the decade till 2030. Moreover various arms of the Ministry including the Ports and Shipping vertical are being monitored very closely and they are strategizing their action plans for achieving these decadal targets.

The PM Gati Shakti Programme launched in 2021 is also planning through National Planning Group of 16 Department Secretaries in Government of India in identifying the gaps for improving Logistics

Our Ministries along with other Ministries have identified103projectswheregapfillingneedstobedone

Some of these projects have been completed, some are initiated and some are work in progress. Having said that, over a period of time in 3-4 years all these gaps will be completed and will help improving the logistics performance and efficiencies inbusinesses.

The National Logistics Policy was launched subsequently in the year 2022. The Government has identified a pipeline of 81 PPP projects worth USD 5.18 billion to develop berths and terminals across Major Ports till 2024-25. New Road alignment and Rail projects to manage the freight traffic are also identified by the Ministry.