Lok Sabha Question No. 1035 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: Enhanching Efficiency in Maritime Sector
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1035

ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## ENHANCHING EFFICIENCY IN MARITIME SECTOR

1035.  SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM:

## Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state:

## पȅन , पोत पįरवहन और जलमागŊ मंũी

(a) whether the Government has taken any steps to enhance the efficiency and global competitiveness in the maritime sector across the country; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c)  whether  any  digitization  and  automation  systems  have  been  developed  for streamlining port documentation; (d) if so, the details thereof; (e)  whether  any  improvements  have  been  observed  in  the  effectiveness  of  this initiative; and (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

- (a) to  (f)  Ministry  of  Ports,  Shipping  and  Waterways  has  undertaken  several measures to enhance the efficiency and global competitiveness in the Maritime Sector. Key initiatives are mentioned below: (i) Enhancement  of  Indian  port  capacity  from  1,400  million  tonnes  per annum (MTPA) to 2,771 MTPA from FY 2013-14 to FY 2024-25 through optimization of existing port capacity and development of new terminals and berths. (ii) Development  of  Central  Parking  Plaza  (CPP),  such  as  in  Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Chennai Port Authority, etc. for reducing congestion. Automation of Weighbridges for fast, accurate, and tamper proof cargo
- (iii) weight measurement for efficient truck movement.
- (iv) Gate Automation for seamless, paperless entry-exit of vehicles through QR based / Smart Card / Automated Number Plate Recognition System.
- (v) Automated  Firefighting  System  for  rapid,  reliable  and  remote  fire detection and suppression.
- (vi) Automated  Dust  Suppression  System  for  reducing  dust  during  cargo handling.
- (vii) Deployment  of  Twin  Lift  and  Dual  Cycle  Container  Operations  in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority.
- (viii)  Modernization  of  Cruise  Terminal  at  Mumbai  Port  Authority,  Chennai Port  Authority,  Vishakhapatnam  Port  Authority,  New  Mangalore  Port Authority, Cochin Port Authority and Mormugao Port Authority.
- (ix) Development of Ship Repair Clusters at Vadinar (Gujarat) and Cochin (Kerala).
- (x) To  enhance  the  efficiency  of  Port  Operations,  the  Public  Private Partnership (PPP) has been promoted in port sector. As a result, about 60%  of  total  cargo  handled  in  major  ports  is  being  handled  by  PPP Operators.
- (xi) The  implementation  of  One  Nation  One  Port  Process  (ONOP)  has resulted in reduction of port documentation by about 33%.
- (xii) Implementation of Maritime Single Window (MSW) - Sagar Setu provides seamless  electronic  submission  and  processing  of  all  ship-related information.    The  platform  ensures  compliance  with  the  International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Facilitation (FAL) Convention and integrates  key  stakeholders,  including  Port  Authorities,  Customs, Port Health Organisations, and the Directorate General of Shipping. Implementation  of  MSW  has  resulted  in  a  reduction  of  vessel  profile approval time from up to 24 hours to about 4 hours.
- (xiii)  Implementation  of  Enterprise  Business  System  (EBS),  which  is  a common, integrated  digital  platform  for  select  major  ports,  combining Port  Operations  Systems  (POS),  an  SAP-based  ERP  backbone,  and auxiliary systems. This resulted in savings of more than 50 lakhs physical copies annually.
2.     Indian ports namely Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (23 rd  Rank) and Mundra Port (25 th   Rank)  featured  in  top  30  of  Container  Port  Performance  Index  2024  report released by World Bank. Additionally, 5 Indian Ports namely Pipavav (32), Cochin (56), Visakhapatnam (70), Hazira (76), and Kamarajar (94) featured among top 100 global ports. The average container turnaround time of India was 28.5 hours which is better than Singapore (30 hours).

*****