Context:
Union Cabinet approved development of Greenfield Major Port at Vadhavan
Vadhavan Port:
- Location – Maharashtra
- Project based on – Landlord-model and through PPP.
- Landlord model – Port authority acts as a regulatory body as well as landlord and private companies carry out port operations.
- Features –
- Port will have a total capacity of 23.2 million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalents) of container holding capacity.
- Port is to have a draft of 20 meters allowing handling of mega vessels.
- Significance –
- Will aid Export Import (EXIM) trade flow through IMEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor) and INSTC (International North South Transportation Corridor).
- Will reduce turnaround time of goods with State of art infrastructure and modern technologies
Major Ports and Non-Major Ports in India:
- Major Ports – Under the administrative control of Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
- Currently, there are 12 functional Major ports.
- Minor Ports – Under the jurisdiction of respective State Maritime Boards/ State Government.
- Currently, there are 200 non-major ports
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Consider the following pairs:
Port: Well known as
1. Kamarajar Port: First major port in India registered as a company
2. Mundra Port: Largest privately owned port in India
3. Visakhapatnam: Largest container port in Port India
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) All three pairs
(d) None of the pairs
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Mundra Port, India’s biggest commercial port by volumes, has overtaken state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to become the country’s largest container gateway by handling 5.65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in FY21, posting a growth of 18 per cent compared to last year. Hence, Pair 3 is not correctly matched.
