India's Port Sector Set To Outpace Major Global Economies, Says Report
India's port sector thrives despite geopolitical uncertainties and trade restrictions, driven by rising domestic consumption, increasing trade volumes, and strong infrastructure.
India's port sector remains unaffected by the geopolitical uncertainties and trade restrictions sparked by trade war. In fact, the sector is expected to grow faster than many major economies, according to a PL Capital report cited by ANI.
Rising domestic consumption, increasing trade volumes and strong government-led infrastructure are pushing the growth in India's port sector, the PL Capital report added.
The rationale behind the growth as per the ANI report, is that the ports and economic growth happen together. The government's mission to make India a global manufacturing hub with the increasing push for exports, is being the major factor to fuel the growth of ports and overall logistic sector, the report added.
Cargo volumes at Indian ports grew at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent over FY02 to FY25, according to the report. The growth at non-major ports was higher at 9.2 per cent compared to major ports at 4.7 per cent. The demand for port infrastructure remains strong due to increasing trade and infrastructure development in the country, it added.
India currently has 12 major running seaports and over 200 non-major ports, handling a combined capacity of approximately 2,700 million metric tonnes (mmt).
The Indian government has set a target to increase the total port capacity to 10,000 mmt by the year 2047.
The port sector will play an important role in India's effort of becoming a USD 10 trillion economy by FY30.
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July 22, 2025, 10:46 IST
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Additionally, if global oil prices rise in the eventuality of most of Russian oil going off the market, the hit for India would be amplified further. 'Replacing Russian crude isn't plug-and-play…it is no easy feat—logistically daunting, economically painful, and geopolitically fraught. Supply substitution may be feasible on paper, but it remains fraught in practice. Gulf barrels come with pricing rigidity, African grades add freight volatility, and Latin American flows face availability constraints,' said Ritolia. India's traditional crude suppliers in West Asia — chiefly Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — would be the logical fall-back, but Indian refiners will have to grapple with significant constraints as they reduce Russian oil imports. A lot of the crude from West Asia comes through term contracts, unlike spot purchases of Russian crude, which may force Indian refiners to commit to higher annual offtake of West Asian oil, which is more rigidly priced compared to discounted Russian crude. Also, a number of Indian refineries that had gotten attuned to processing Russian crude in large volumes may see an impact on their product yield and refinery configurations due to crude quality mismatch. India is also expected to sustain its ongoing efforts to diversify its sources of crude oil. Geopolitical shifts, freight economics, and refinery economics are expected to continue shaping India's crude sourcing decisions and diversification strategy. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
